Deepest Reflections
by Kurinoone
Summary: Harry gets a chance to see what his life would have been like if Wormtail had betrayed them fully that Halloween night. He swaps his universe for the cannon universe. Canon compliant up until the fourth book. Book Three of the Dark Prince Trilogy. H/G AU
1. The Golden Compass

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Note: This is the third part in the series. If you haven't read the first two parts, The Darkness Within and A Part of Me, then none of this will make sense. So, please read those first. Thank you.

Hey everyone. Here is the first chapter. I hope you like it. Enjoy!

**Chapter One**

Damien followed Lily inside Potter Manor, trudging inside tiredly. Both mother and son had their hands covered in dirt and Damien even had some on his face. Lily dropped the soil covered muggle tools into the sink before washing her hands. She dropped into a chair, a contented smile on her face. Her flowerbeds were looking perfect now. No matter what chore she did with the aid of magic, gardening was one that she loved doing the muggle way. She used to help her mum and Petunia plant flowers in their garden when she was young. To her it seemed that gardening was only meant to be done the muggle way.

Damien washed his hands and sat down opposite his mum. Lily smiled at the streak of soil on his forehead. He must have brushed his dark bangs out of his eyes at some point with his soil covered hands. Lily grabbed a dishtowel and leaned forward to wipe the boy's face clean.

The fourteen year old blushed a little as his mum wiped his face clean and rubbed his own hands over his forehead, trying to make sure his face was completely free from soil.

"Have you finished your packing, yet?" Lily asked as she got up from the table and started to tidy up her cluttered kitchen.

"Most of it." Damien replied, stretching his legs before him. He had been sitting on his knees for so long, they had started to cramp.

Lily turned around to look at Damien with a stern look.

"That usually means you haven't packed a thing." she reprimanded lightly.

Damien grinned at her with one of his trademark smiles.

"It won't take me long, mum. I'll pack in time, honest." He reassured her.

"In time? Damy, we're leaving in two days!" Lily said, her emerald green eyes fixed on her younger son.

Damien just shrugged in response. Lily let out a sigh and turned back to her chores.

"Go upstairs and get started please, I'm not making any returned trips to pick up forgotten items." She warned.

"It's okay. If I do forget anything, Harry can bring it to me." Damien idly replied.

Lily stopped in her tracks and had to calm herself down. It still caught her off guard that they were leaving Harry behind and heading to Hogwarts. For the hundredth time she wished Harry had taken up Dumbledore's offer to teach the new Duelling class. That way, he would have been getting ready to leave along with them. Putting her feelings aside she continued her work, acting as normal as she could.

"That's unfair. You can't expect your brother to run to Hogwarts with your things!" she admonished.

"Why not? It's not like he's going to be busy with anything else." Damien replied casually. He looked up at his mum suddenly. "Erm, where is Harry? I haven't seen him since breakfast." He said, sitting up in his chair, looking around the kitchen.

"He's probably in his room." Lily said distractedly, tidying her worktops from clutter.

Damien got up and headed upstairs. He had been so busy helping his mum finish her summer work on her garden that he never noticed his brother's absence. Damien had just knocked once on Harry's door and had walked inside. He saw that the room was empty. Damien had just walked back out and was intending on search the whole manor for Harry, when he heard the faint, yet distinctive, sound of someone apparating. Damien turned back to Harry's bedroom and opened the door to see Harry standing before his bed. He dropped a few unfamiliar items onto his bed before looking over at Damien.

The fourteen year old looked at Harry questioningly. He had his outdoor cloak on and was in the process of clipping it off and throwing it over the back of his chair. Damien quickly walked inside and closed the door behind him.

"Where did you go?" he asked as he eyed the strange items lying on Harry's bed.

Harry didn't answer and sat down next to the small pile. Damien walked over to the bed and stared down at the 'treasure' lying on the bed.

Most were what seemed like ordinary jewellery pieces, a pendant, two rings and a bracelet. Each one was made out of pure gold and had strange coloured stones in them. Damien spotted a strange looking quill, black feather with a shimmering red spot just at the tip. It lay next to a small hexagon shaped box. But it was the object lying next to the small box that caught Damien's attention. It was what looked like a compass, but a very strange one at that. It was made out of solid gold and the face of the compass had a tinted purple glass cover. But instead of the usual markings around the edges of the compass, there were rune markings. There were numerous ones, all surrounding the face of the compass which had at least five different hands.

Damien was staring at the strange device, wondering what it was and what Harry was doing with all this stuff.

"Where did you get all this from?" Damien asked, still staring at the compass.

"It doesn't matter." Harry said distractedly. He was holding the small hexagon shaped box in his hand and was too busy looking at it.

Damien had a sinking feeling erupt inside him as he looked at all the strange items lying before him. He suddenly knew where Harry had found them from.

"Did you go back to Riddle Manor?" he asked, watching Harry closely.

Harry at last looked up and met Damien's gaze.

"What's with all the questions?" he asked, a note of annoyance in his voice.

"Why don't you just answer them?" Damien replied.

Harry didn't say anything and for the next few minutes, just held Damien's questioning gaze. Finally he gave up and with a sigh he answered.

"Yes, I went back."

Damien gestured to the items before him.

"So, all this was his?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head.

"Cool" Damien said, his eyes looking back over at the strange compass. "What exactly are all these things?" he asked gesturing to them.

"Just things Voldemort had in his possession. I don't want them to be lying in Riddle Manor." Harry replied.

"You mean in case someone else picks them up?" Damien asked.

"Yeah, I know the Ministry isn't after Riddle Manor anymore. Diggory put an end to that, but Rodolphus was able to walk into the Manor and pick up my wand. I don't want anyone else going into the Manor and taking this stuff." Harry explained.

Damien nodded his head in understanding. It was obvious that Harry had only picked up the few things that meant something to him and brought them with him. He eyed the compass again.

"What's that, Harry?" he finally asked, pointing to the gold compass.

Harry looked over at it but made no move to pick it up.

"It's a compass." He said simply.

"Yeah, I got that as well, I mean what does it do?"

"What any other compass does." Harry answered, smirking at the annoyed expression Damien now wore.

"Is it dark?" Damien asked.

Harry smiled and got up to his feet.

"Nothing is dark. It has a _potential_ for dark magic, like any other item in this world but the items themselves aren't dark."

Damien felt oddly relieved at that. He eyed the compass again. Harry moved towards his desk, the black feather quill and hexagon shaped box in his hand.

Damien took the chance to pick up the compass. He felt a bizarre comforting feeling overtake him as he held the surprisingly light compass in his hand. He stared at the five hands, all pointing in what would be the north position and examined the strange markings, runes, decorate the outer ring of the compass. Looking closely at it, Damien realised that the compass had two rings that could be moved independently from each other.

Damien didn't even realise what he was doing when he began to move the outer ring clockwise. It clicked five times. Damien saw something flash in the face of the compass, but whatever it was, it was gone in the next instant. Curiously, Damien moved the inner circle, this time three times anti clockwise. Again the purple tinted glass flashed like lightening. Damien was transfixed to the compass and only realised what he had done when a sharp voice pulled him to his senses.

"Damien! What are you doing!?"

Damien looked up, still clutching the glowing compass. Harry was standing before him, his face contorted in anger. He looked down at the compass and saw that the five hands were spinning madly, pointing in all directions.

A wave of panic swept through Damien as he saw the purple glass glow and change colour. A golden shimmer ran through the compass and Damien tried to let go but his fingers wouldn't unclench from it.

"Harry! I can't let go!" he yelled, in fright.

Harry lunged towards him and grabbed a hold of the compass. At once Damien's fingers were freed from the shimmering compass. But before Damien could let go he felt the room spin. He tightened his grip on the compass through reflex and his other hand grabbed Harry's.

The compass emitted a golden ray that hit Harry and Damien and engulfed them in a ball of golden light. Before either of the boys could utter a single word, they disappeared along with the compass.

---

The houses lined in Privet Drive all stood identical to one another. The summer's heat had forced all the residents to open their windows wide, trying to urge in the non existent breeze. Even at night, the windows were left open. The street lamps flickered, throwing the street into shadowed darkness every few seconds. All the houses had their lights extinguished, indicating that most of the residents of Privet Drive were asleep. All but one.

Harry lay uncomfortably on his bed, staring into nothing. He noted how every time he returned from Hogwarts, his bed at Privet Drive seemed to grow more and more uncomfortable. He figured it was because he was getting used to the soft, comfortable, warm bed in his Gryffindor dorm.

He stared at the blank walls of his room and futilely tried to not think about the nightmare that had awoken him. It wasn't all that unusual, Harry told himself. He had been through a terrifying ordeal. Seeing someone murdered in cold blood before you and then being forced into a ritual that brought back the monster that was named Lord Voldemort, it was enough to give fully grown adults nightmares, and Harry had only just turned fifteen.

With a tired sigh, Harry turned to his side and tried to drift off. But he knew that tonight he would never fall back asleep. Every night had been the same. Every night he awoke after reliving the horrifying events of the Third Task. Cedric's lifeless body hitting the ground, his eyes, open, empty, dead.

Sometimes, in his nightmares, Harry could feel the ropes that had bound him to the gravestone, he could taste the rag that had been forced into his mouth, feel the awful blade sink into his arm and draw blood. His heart would thump madly, painfully in his chest as he saw the figure rise from the cauldron, see it's skeletal body being draped in black robes, his long pale fingers grasping his wand and his face, like a serpent with vivid blood red eyes, staring at him, boring into him with hate so fierce it felt like he would rip Harry's soul out with his gaze.

Harry sat up in his bed, his hands shaking, sweat on his brow. He had to stop doing this, he had to stop reliving Voldemort's rebirth. He would drive himself mad if he kept this up. He tried to distract his mind, to think of something else. His eyes scanned his bare room and he saw the thick leather bound book at the foot of his bed. Harry picked up the book and looked at it. He had been looking at it before he fell asleep.

He opened the photo album and gazed at the moving pictures of his parents. Harry's eyes were fixed on the two smiling people. His heart constricted painfully. He had seen them, well not really _them_, more like their echo that had been forced from Voldemort's wand during Priori Incantateum.

Harry watched the moving pictures and tried not to get upset. He had always thought that if, if he somehow got a chance to see his parents again, got a chance to speak to them, he would tell them so many things. All the things that he had bottled up inside him since their death would come pouring out. But when the time came, when he saw the two forms standing on either side of him, he couldn't say anything. The situation was such that the he didn't have the time or even the right frame of mind to say anything to them. He was duelling Lord Voldemort at that moment and was moments away from death. He hadn't been able to say anything to his parents, not a single word.

Harry closed the album and placed it on his bedside table. Voldemort had taken everything away from him. He had killed his parents and was the reason why Harry had such a miserable childhood. He had thought that going to Hogwarts was the best thing that happened to him but now that Voldemort was back, what did that mean for the wizarding school? What would that mean for the wizarding world?

Harry had been listening to the news and reading the muggle newspaper, after his uncle was finished, and kept his subscription to Daily Prophet, in the hopes of knowing what Voldemort was up to. So far, nothing had happened. The Minister was still claiming that everything was fine and 'He-who-must-not-be-named' was not back. It made Harry's insides burn with anger. How stupid could Fudge be?

Harry was suddenly pulled out of his musings by a loud noise. It sounded like something crashing downstairs. Harry dived for his wand, which was tucked under his pillow. The rest of his things were kept in the cupboard under the stairs, but Harry had taken out his wand. Now that Voldemort was back, Harry wasn't going to risk anything.

With a pounding heart, Harry strained his ears to pick up any sound. He was surprised that the loud noise hadn't woken up the three Dursleys. Then again, with the two Dursley men snoring as loud as they did, it was no surprise. Harry heard faint muttering and his heart leapt in his chest. There was someone in the house. Actually, from the sound of it, there was more than one person downstairs. Harry had no doubt that it was Death Eaters. It was only natural to assume that. Voldemort was back and what would be the first thing he would want to do. Kill Harry.

Harry got up and walked steadily to the door. He opened it as quietly as he could and walked out. He considered his options. He could either run for it or stay and fight. He could run out the front door and call down the Knight bus and head to Ron's. He didn't really know how to fight Death Eaters. His duel with Voldemort was nothing short of good luck on his part. His skin prickled with fear. What if Voldemort was downstairs? Maybe he had come to finish off the duel they had four weeks ago. Harry told himself that Voldemort couldn't come here. His scar wasn't hurting enough to warrant Voldemort's presence.

Harry stood at the top of the stairs. He couldn't run. He wouldn't run from Voldemort. And what about the Dursleys? Granted they never cared for him but he couldn't leave them in the midst of Death Eaters and possibly Voldemort. They would be killed.

Gathering every nerve in his body, Harry headed down the steps, taking care to avoid the squeaky one. His wand was held before him. His mind was going through all the Defence he had learnt so far. Hermione's shrill voice had filled his head as she had helped his with his studies. He shook his head to clear it and walked quietly through the darkened house. He heard the muttering clearly now and was taken aback at the sound. It didn't sound like Death Eaters, the voices were much younger. Harry crept closer to the kitchen, as that was where the sound was coming from.

"…I didn't know it was going to portkey us! You said it wasn't dark!" a voice was saying.

"Why did you touch it in the first place?! What were you doing playing around with it!?" a second voice asked, irritably.

Harry felt the hairs on the back on his neck stand. This voice was a lot older, but still not old enough to be an adult. There was something about this voice that made Harry feel strange. It was very familiar. So familiar that it was downright scary.

"Well, I'm sorry! You didn't say not to touch anything!" the first voice, the younger one, said. Harry could imagine a pout with the statement.

"Honestly, Damy! You still have to be told?" the second voice asked.

"Where are we anyway?" the first voice asked.

Harry was confused. These night time visitors didn't know where they were? And didn't they mention something about a portkey? Harry pressed himself as close to the door as he dared, in a bid to hear them better.

"I don't know." the second voice answered quietly.

"Eww, look how clean it is!" the first voice said.

Harry almost laughed at that. Aunt Petunia did get carried away with her cleaning.

"Damy, shush."

"No, seriously, if I didn't know any better, I would say we were in Aunt Petunia's kitchen." The first voice said.

Harry froze, his heart beating painfully fast. Aunt Petunia? How did they know Aunt Petunia? And why were these strangers calling her Aunt Petunia?!

"Damy, keep quiet." Came the older one's voice.

"Um, I think we might actually be in Aunt Petunia's house." The first voice said, a hint of fear in his voice.

"_Damien_, shut up!" the other one hissed.

"Why?" Damien asked, a lot quieter.

"Someone's here."

That was all the warning Harry got before he was hit in the face with the door being violently flung open. Harry was thrown to the ground by the impact. His face burned with pain as the door had slammed into his nose. His eyes watered with pain. He still had a fierce grip on his wand and he had it pointed at the attacker in a matter of seconds. He was still sprawled on the ground but that didn't matter. What was important was to disarm the attacker.

"Expelli-"

The disarming spell died in Harry's throat when he saw who it was he was pointing his wand at. Identical emerald green eyes stared at each other. Harry blinked his blurry eyes clear to see…himself standing before him. Only he wasn't completely identical. For one thing he was older than fifteen. He wasn't wearing glasses and his physique was very different to his own. He looked like an older, taller, healthier version of himself.

Harry was still sitting on the ground, staring in mixed horror and curiosity. From behind the older Harry, a young boy peered at him. He had dark hair and hazel eyes. His mouth dropped in surprise at seeing Harry. His eyes went from one Harry to the other.

"What the hell!?" he said in shock.

Both Harrys' couldn't help agree with that statement.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please consider this as your Christmas present from me. I hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think by reviewing. Cheers!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!


	2. Me, Myself and Damy

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Blinks at the number of reviews Um, am I seeing that number correctly? Did I really get 170 reviews for just one chapter?!! You guys are just amazing!! Thank you! Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!! I have given you an extra long chappie as a Thank you!

I hope everyone had a great Xmas! Here is the next chappie, Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

Harry stood pointing his wand at the boy sitting on the floor, staring up at him in dazed confusion. His own eyes were fixed on the boy. It was definitely himself. He was looking at Harry Potter. There was no question about it. Harry slowly lowered his wand, watching as the action was mirrored by the Harry on the floor, before him. Damien was still staring between the two, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly. The other Harry stood up, his eyes never leaving the older Harry's face.

Even though it was dark in the hallway, Harry could see the state the other Harry was in clearly. The first thing he noticed was how _thin_ the boy was. He could clearly see the baggy, rather haggard looking, clothes falling of his thin frame. His emerald eyes were hidden behind black framed glasses which sat awkwardly on his thin face.

Damien was the first one to find his voice.

"What's going on?"

That seemed to snap both boys out of their dazed stupor.

"I think someone should explain what's going on, right now?" the Harry with glasses said, his voice betraying how nervous and freaked out he was.

Harry looked up at him, his mind registering how similar their voices were as well. But this Harry still had a lot of innocence in him. His voice didn't hold any real threat and there was hardly any harshness in his tone.

Harry looked away from the younger Harry and looked at the gold compass, still clutched in his own hand. He had an idea of what the compass was but he wasn't sure. Now he had all the proof he needed.

They had travelled to an alternate dimension.

Damien was looking at the gold compass as well and realised what happened at the same time as Harry. His hazel eyes widened even more with surprise.

"No way! We're in another dimension!? We travelled to another dimension!?" he asked in shock and awe.

Harry couldn't help the smirk as he gestured towards the other Harry and said,

"Seeing that there are the two of us here, I would say yes, we _have_ travelled to another dimension."

The younger Harry looked quite lost but his eyes caught the glimmering compass that the other two boys had been staring at. Was it possible? Could they really be from another dimension? He stared at the older Harry and fought against the paranoia that they were Death Eaters in disguise. If that was the case, they could have attacked or killed him by now.

Slowly, Harry walked towards the other Harry. Both boys were staring at each other, taking in the others appearance with detail. The fifteen year old Harry saw how much taller the other Harry was and how built he was. He was definitely older. His hair was also a little longer but just as messy. His bangs were obscuring his forehead and so Harry couldn't see if he had the famous lightening bolt shaped scar or not.

"This is…wow, this is unbelievable. I mean, you're me, but not me. Am I making any sense?" Harry said as they both circled each other.

"Just enough for me to understand you." The older Harry responded, making his own observations. The boy was young, very young, perhaps, twelve, or thirteen. He was very skinny and his clothes were too disgusting to even comment on. His hair was just as messy as his own and his eyes were the exact shade as his own, when he wasn't in one of his towering tempers.

Before they could voice any other questions, a sound was heard from the above floor. A loud grunt, followed by a shouted 'Boy' was echoed through the darkened home.

Harry jumped and looked up at the stairs, he could see his uncle's rather large form at the top of the stairs. He started descending downstairs, rubbing sleep from his beady eyes. A wave of panic rushed through Harry. His instinct told him his uncle shouldn't know about the other Harry and the other boy. He would only blame it all on him and his 'freaky' gift. He turned to face the two boys and was relieved to see the older Harry dragging the boy, Damien, back into the kitchen. The door closed with a soft click and Harry quickly stood before it, his heart hammering at his insides.

Uncle Vernon arrived at the foot of the stairs and he caught the figure, belonging to his nephew, standing at the kitchen door. He stomped angrily over to him.

"What in the name of heavens are you doing, boy?!" he hissed.

"I was thirsty. I just got up to get a drink of water." Harry lied easily, hoping his uncle wasn't up for the same reason and walked into the kitchen.

"Then can't you do it quietly?! What were you doing that caused such a racket!?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, I dropped the glass." Harry said, knowing that the sound heard wasn't of glass breaking. It was the sound of a door hitting a boy and throwing him bodily to the floor.

On the other side of the door, Harry and Damien stood listening to the conversation. A cold knot started forming in the pit of Harry's stomach. He didn't like the way this 'uncle' was talking.

"At least have some common sense not to cause such a ruckus! You've probably woken up the entire street with your clumsiness! I'm warning you now, boy, if you ever disturb my sleep again I'm going to lock you in your room at night! Understand!?" he said, his face growing red with anger.

Damien shared a look with Harry. He never did like his uncle Vernon but he never thought he would be capable of carrying out such a threat. Damien saw the way Harry's jaw clenched at uncle Vernon's words. Damien knew that couldn't be a good sign.

"I'm sorry, uncle Vernon. I'll be careful next time." Harry said, silently pleading for his uncle to go away. He said the most appeasing thing he could some up with, hoping it would calm his uncle down so he would leave.

Uncle Vernon looked at Harry through suspicious eyes. Why was he not being cheeky? He noticed his face looked a little red, especially his nose. What was going on?

"What are you up to, boy?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just want to get back to my bed." Harry said, looking his uncle in the eye, so he would believe him.

Uncle Vernon didn't say anything but continued to scrutinise his nephew. Inside the kitchen, Damien and Harry were straining their ears to pick up what was going on. At last, Vernon gave up and stalked towards the stairs.

"Get back up to your room, now!" he ordered.

"Yes, uncle Vernon." Harry sighed with relief. He followed his uncle's footsteps and gave him a small faked smile as he opened the door to his room, convincing his uncle he was going back to his bed. Vernon shook his large head and went into his own bedroom, closing the door firmly.

Harry bolted back downstairs, avoiding the creaky step and rushed to the kitchen. He opened the door and came face to face with the two boys. Harry's breath caught in his chest as he was standing a mere inch or two away from the other Harry. He noticed that the older Harry was a good three or four inches taller that him. Other than the obvious difference in height and body size, they were exact replicas of each other. Their facial features and messy hair were identical.

"I think we should sit down." Damien said, an amused glint in his eye as he saw the look of surprise on the other Harry's face.

Fifteen year old Harry blinked at the other boy. He had almost forgotten he was there. Harry looked awkwardly at the spotless kitchen. It would be too risky to sit here, in case someone else came downstairs.

"I, I think it's better if we go upstairs." He said his voice faltering a little.

He led the two newcomers upstairs, gesturing them to avoid the creaky step. He opened the door to his room and ushered the two boys inside, before stepping inside himself. As soon as he had closed the door he turned to face the two boys. He saw that both were looking around at his bare room, curious expressions on their faces.

"Okay, can one of you explain what is going on?" he said, a bit more authority in his voice now.

Damien shifted and looked over at his brother. Harry in response held up the compass.

"Damien was messing around with this. It's a compass that allows direction and travel to other dimensions. He was messing around with it and we ended up here."

Fifteen year old Harry listened and then turned to Damien.

"I'm guessing you're Damien." He said, taking a more careful note of the boy.

Damien grinned again. This was so bizarre, to meet Harry, another Harry from another dimension. Damien stuck out his hand in a formal greeting saying,

"Hi, I'm Damien Potter."

Harry had reached out to shake his hand but stopped in mid action. His emerald green eyes widened in surprise and he felt the words vanish from his mouth. Damien smirked at the reaction. So similar to what his brother Harry had looked like when he had met him for the first time.

"I'm guessing from your reaction that you don't have me as your brother in this dimension." Damien said.

Harry could only shake his head.

Damien looked around at his brother who was smirking at the other Harry's reaction as well.

"He's taking it a lot better than you did." Damien joked.

Harry only rolled his eyes at him and then turned his attention to his 'other' self.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked, already guessing the answer.

Harry shook his head again but this time he added a verbal 'no' as well.

Damien looked surprised at that.

"Really? That's weird. I always thought mum and dad would want more than one kid." He said, more to himself than the others.

Fifteen year old Harry looked at Damien and felt his heart almost rip to pieces. His parents must be alive in the dimension they had come from. That was why the other boy even existed. Clearing his throat he answered.

"They didn't have a choice. They died when I was one."

Damien's smile vanished from his face and he stared at Harry, unable to speak. The words washed over the two boys and left them speechless. Damien turned to look at his brother and saw that he had closed his eyes, a look of grim understanding on his face.

Harry had guessed something like that must have happened when he heard the other Harry speaking with his uncle. His appearance made a lot more sense now. He had lost both James and Lily and was given to his aunt and uncle, who obviously didn't look after him and made no effort in caring for him. Harry looked around the bare room again and felt a chill creep down his spine.

Damien had collapsed onto the pitiful bed and his head had dropped into his hands.

"I…I can't…I don't…they're dead? I'm sorry, I mean…How did…that's awful!" Damien didn't what to say that would equate to a proper assessment of how he was feeling. His parents were dead in this universe. He, Damien, didn't exist because his parents were dead. He looked at the orphan Harry standing before him and felt an awful stab of sympathy for him. "What happened? How did they die?" he asked him.

A look of intense hatred filled Harry's face as he answered.

"Voldemort."

The word was whispered but it still rang in the small room. Across the room, Harry's head snapped up at the word.

"Voldemort killed them." Harry continued.

Damien turned to look at his brother for his reaction. Harry's jaw had clenched tight and hard, his hands balled into tight fists. His eyes had darkened considerably. Damien knew that if it was hard for him to come to terms with the fact that in this other dimension, Voldemort had killed his parents, for his brother, it was nothing short of torture.

Damien and Harry listened as the younger Harry explained the events that took place on the night of Halloween, when Harry was one years old. Both boys were listening without interruption, absorbed in the events that could have easily taken place in their world, had Peter given Voldemort the Potters location.

"…with no other relative to take me in, Professor Dumbledore brought me here, to my aunt's and left me with them." Harry finished.

At this, Harry looked up sharply, his expression darkening at the name of the Hogwarts Headmaster.

"Dumbledore?" he voiced.

Harry looked over at his older self and nodded his head.

"He was the one who brought me to the Dursleys." He explained.

"But I don't understand why are you living with Aunt Petunia? Why didn't you go to stay with Uncle Sirius?" Damien asked, trying not to imagine living with his obnoxious aunt and her husband.

"I probably would have stayed with him, had he not ran after Peter, intending to avenge his friends' death and in the process, got himself framed for the death of twelve muggles." Harry answered.

"He did what?!" Damien asked, not able to believe his uncle.

"So he went to Azkaban?" it was Harry who asked the question.

The younger Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah, he was imprisoned for life. He was blamed for my parent's betrayal and death as everyone thought he was their secret keeper. No one knew that my dad had switched the secret keeper to Peter at the last minute." Harry explained.

"So, he's…he's in Azkaban now?" Damien asked, feeling his heart tear at the thought.

"He was until two years ago. He ran away and is still in hiding." Harry explained.

"What about Voldemort? What happened to him after the killing curse rebounded on him?" Harry asked.

Harry looked at his older self as he asked the question. There was a strange gleam in his eye as he spoke, an emotion that Harry couldn't place. The younger Harry licked his lips nervously as he found the events of the third task rush through his mind.

"He had disappeared from the wizarding world. A lot of people said he had died but he…he came back." he whispered. "Just a few weeks ago, he came back. I had protection from him because of my mum's sacrifice but now that protection is gone. He…he forced me in his re-birthing ritual, he took some of my blood and now, because of me, he's back." Harry hung his head after the last few words.

Damien was unable to say anything and just stared at the boy before him. Harry was watching the younger boy closely and saw him tug at the sleeve of his baggy top, before hesitantly lifting it up to reveal an ugly scar just below his elbow.

In a quiet voice he told them about the Triwizard tournament taking place at Hogwarts and what happened at the Third Task. When he came to the part about Cedric Diggory, he found he could see the scene before him, the way he had sensed the green killing curse through his closed eyelids, the sickening thump of the body as it hit the ground, his lifeless eyes staring out before him, Harry could see it all again, feel the cold chill run down his spine at the recollection.

"How did you get out? I mean, did you duel with…with him?" Damien asked, staring at this younger version of Harry with awe and wonder.

"I wouldn't call it duelling." Harry said. "I didn't think I was going to make it, he had his Death Eaters by his side and I was alone. He didn't let them come in between us though. I just fired the first curse I could think of." Harry admitted.

"And that was?" it was the eighteen year old Harry that asked the question, curious as to how he would have fought Voldemort.

"Expelliarmus" Harry answered.

Damien and Harry didn't comment but it was clear to see what they thought of that from their expressions.

"I know what you're thinking, but at the time I couldn't think of anything else." Harry quickly jumped to his defence.

"Well, it obviously worked." Damien said, gesturing to him. "You're here and are in one piece."

The look in fifteen year old Harry's eyes changed and he looked at the wand, still in his pocket.

"It was luck that saved me, and…and my parents." At the shocked looks, he continued. "Our wands are brother wands, mine and Voldemort's. They couldn't fight against one another and my wand forced Voldemort's to spit back out the last spells he had performed. I saw the ghost like echoes of the people he had killed. Cedric, a Ministry official named Bertha, a muggle man and…and my, my parents."

Damien and Harry were keeping their eyes fixed on the skinny boy sitting before them.

"They helped me, all of them. My mum and dad, they spoke to me, told me to run while they kept Voldemort back. I only had a few seconds to get away. I did what they said and broke the connection our wands had formed and ran to the portkey. I grabbed a hold of Cedric's body as he asked me to not leave him there. I portkeyed back to Hogwarts."

The silence in the room after Harry finished was unnerving. No one knew quite what to say. Damien let out a tired sigh. This was a lot to take in. He could never have thought that one small change could have such ramifications. To think that if Peter never took Harry to Voldemort and instead, told him of the Potters whereabouts, it would make such life changing differences.

Eighteen year old Harry was lost in his thoughts. He had always had James and Lily in his life. Even at the times when he hated them and wanted nothing more to do with them, they were still in his life. He knew of their existence when he was with Voldemort, he had heard the Death Eaters talk about 'Auror Potter' and Draco would tell him about his Potions teacher 'Professor Potter' all the time. The last two years of his life had him living with them and now he couldn't imagine his life without them. But this Harry, he had only had them in his life for a year and then he lost them. He never saw them again. He couldn't remember them from his childhood and the only time he got to see them, they were echoes that faded in a matter of seconds. It seemed cruel beyond any reason for this to happen to him.

"Your turn."

The words brought Harry out of his thoughts and he looked up to see the boy staring at him.

"What?"

"I've told you all about me, it's your turn to tell me about you." Harry said, a lot more relaxed now.

Damien looked between the two Harrys and smirked. This wasn't going to be easy.

When Harry didn't make any effort to start talking, the younger Harry started digging for answers.

"I'm guessing, since Damien is here, that the events of Halloween night were not the same in your world as they were here?"

Harry nodded his head at that.

"They were never attacked." He confirmed.

Younger Harry smiled at that knowledge.

"I can tell that you had a different life to mine." Harry said, gesturing to his appearance.

"You can say that again." Damien snorted.

Harry glared at him, in warning to keep his mouth shut. Damien picked up on it and closed his mouth.

"How old are you?" the younger Harry asked, it was clear that he wanted to ask this question sooner.

"Eighteen" Harry answered.

Relief poured into the other Harry.

"Oh, that makes sense." He said.

"What age are you? Thirteen?" Harry asked genuinely taking a guess.

Harry pursed his lips at that suggestion and answered with a dignified "fifteen! I'm fifteen."

Damien sniggered at that before adding.

"I'll be fifteen in two months!"

Harry turned to stare at Damien. They were the same age! He realised that alternate universes didn't run in parallel to one another. That was why the Harry before him was older than him. He was three years ahead of this timeline.

"I would never have thought that things could be so different in an alternate universe. I never gave it much thought, until now." Fifteen year old Harry said. "You probably have a totally different life, with parents and different friends." He went on.

"Yeah, _totally_ different." Damien offered slyly.

"You mentioned Sirius, is he still dad's best friend?" younger Harry asked, his eyes shinning in interest.

"Yep! Him and Uncle Remus." Damien offered again, as the other Harry was not speaking.

"What about Peter? Is he different in your world?" Harry asked his tone a lot colder.

Damien was lost. He didn't know what he should say at that. He looked at his brother for help.

"No, he died a few years back." Harry said, no emotion in his voice.

"But was he still their friend. If you weren't attacked does that mean he never betrayed James and Lily?" Harry asked.

The looks on both boys' faces gave Harry his answer.

"What happened? Did Peter do something?" he asked watching as the green eyes of his counterpart steadily got darker or was that just a trick of the light?

"He did, but not what he did in this world." Damien said quickly.

Harry stared at the two brothers.

"What did he do?" he asked, not understanding what he could have done differently.

This question wasn't answered. The two boys looked at each other and fell silent. Fifteen year old Harry couldn't understand what had happened. If James and Lily were still alive in this other world, then Peter couldn't have betrayed them to Voldemort.

"I don't understand, what happened? What did Peter do?" Harry asked again.

"It's…it's complicated… and besides, it doesn't really matter." Damien said, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. "Let's talk about other people. Do you know Ron Weasley?"

The next few hours were spent with the three boys going through all the people they knew. Fifteen year old Harry was amazed that Damien knew and was friends with most of his friends. He did find it weird that his counterpart was awfully quiet and wasn't as interested in this conversation. He was sitting in his seat, examining the golden compass and gently touching the runes.

"So, what are your parents like?" Harry asked, addressing the question to his older self.

Harry looked lost.

"Um, okay, I guess." He said, shooting Damien another look.

"What was it like, growing up with them?" Harry asked, wanting to now what his life could have been like with two loving parents by his side.

Harry looked at Damien again and he shifted uncomfortably. Damien on the other hand looked quite relaxed and was smirking at Harry.

"It…fine, I guess." Harry muttered.

"You don't sound too sure." Harry said, picking up how awkward his other self was getting. "I'm sorry, I was just curious as to what it was like to grow up with parents. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I only asked since you grew up with them."

Damien shot his brother a look, amused at how he would answer this. Harry shifted in his seat again. The younger Harry picked up on this.

"What's wrong? You did grow up with them, right?" he asked, thinking that maybe he had been sent to live with relatives for another reason.

"Not exactly." Harry answered, shifting in his uncomfortable seat.

Damien leaned back and tried not to smirk. This was just too amusing not to enjoy. Very little things could make his brother uncomfortable, and telling his other dimensional self that he was brought up by the very person that killed his parents and caused all the misery in his life, was one of the few things that would definitely make his brother squirm.

"What do you mean? Who brought you up then?" the younger Harry asked, growing more perplexed at the minutes went on.

Before Harry could attempt an answer there was a sharp rap on the door, making all three jump in surprise.

"Are you up! Get up! You have breakfast to make!" a sharp voice screeched from behind the door.

"Yea, Aunt Petunia! I'll be right there!" Harry called.

Damien and Harry blinked out of the window. It was just after dawn. The sky had lightened but it wasn't proper daybreak yet. The clock on the rickety bedside table was reading just after six in the morning. Why were they up so early?

"Aunt Petunia likes all her chores to be started as early as possible." Harry offered as an explanation.

"Do you always make them breakfast?" Damien asked, growing to hate his aunt and uncle more and more.

"Usually, sometimes Aunt Petunia will help but only rarely."

"What else to they make you do?" Harry asked, his eyes fixed on his younger self.

"Just usual household chores, nothing major." Harry brushed aside the question. "It's not anything to complain about."

"Hmm, tell me, does your cousin help with these _household_ chores, or is it just you?" Harry asked, his eyes burning with suppressed rage. Damien was watching him carefully. He understood the anger. The way this Harry was treated was reminding Harry of his 'Potter' memories.

"Dudley? Are you kidding? I'm surprised Aunt Petunia lets him clean his teeth in the mornings! They do everything for him, well, correction they make me do everything for him. But they're harmless." Harry said.

Harry and Damien doubted that last part but didn't say so. Damien looked around the bare room again.

"What's the deal with the room?" Damien asked, not able to hold back any longer. "You don't even have a single poster up. Don't you support any teams?" he asked.

"I love Quidditch, I play as seeker in the Gryffindor team, have since first year but my relatives don't like me showing things to do with magic. They're not very, um, _comfortable_ with it." Harry explained.

"But still, they should let you put up something." Damien groaned, looking around the room. He spotted the photo album but didn't make any moves towards it. He already guessed whose pictures would be in the album.

Harry grinned at Damien. He had only met the boy for a few short hours but was already growing to like him. He was the same age as him but still was very sweet.

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad they gave me a room. Until I received my Hogwarts letter, I lived in the cupboard under the stairs." Harry wasn't sure why he let out that information. Maybe it was to convince the two boys that his relatives weren't really as bad as they thought they were. That the room was more comfortable than the cold, dark cupboard he had lived in for ten years. Ironically, the revelation only made him realise how cruel his relatives were.

Damien gasped and looked at Harry with a disbelieving expression. But it was the other Harry's expression that was scary. He was looking positively murderous. His eyes were definitely darker that before, his teeth clenched and his fists clenched tight.

"It, it's not…I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Harry hastened to explain.

Suddenly another yell of aunt Petunia's made Harry run to the door.

"I'll be right down, Aunt Petunia!" Harry said shouting from the door. He turned around to stare at the two upset looking boys. "I…I should go." He said.

Damien tore his eyes away from Harry to look at the other brother.

"We should go as well. Mum will freak when she can't find us."

Harry noticed the way the younger Harry had looked at Damien when he mentioned Lily. It was heartbreaking to see the yearning and longing in his eyes. He quickly masked his emotions and attempted a smile at them but it was far from convincing.

"We'll come back and visit, I guess." Damien said as he shook Harry's hand.

"Yeah, okay." Harry said.

Both Harrys stood before one another. It was strange to see another person who was not a twin or a disguised person. It was you, it was the same soul, the same person.

"I'm really glad to have seen you. It's reassuring to know that at least somewhere, in another universe, I got to be with my family." Harry said, the look of longing and sadness hit Harry like a tidal wave. All he could do was nod his head in agreement.

Harry walked towards the window and held up the compass and started turning the outer ring five times in reverse to what Damien had done. Damien was standing next to him, waiting patiently for the compass to start glowing. The fifteen year old Harry stood next to the door, his heart bleeding at the knowledge that they were going back to a world that had a James and Lily Potter.

Before Harry moved the inner ring three times he looked up at the other Harry. His fingers stopped in mid action and he watched the other boy smile sadly at them, urging them to go before his relatives found them. Harry looked at the framed picture of James and Lily and then at the leather bound album sitting on the desk, next to where he was standing. He knew, without even opening the book that it was filled with pictures of parents the orphan had never known.

Suddenly a decision formed in his mind and he stopped setting the compass.

"Harry! What's wrong? Why have you stopped?" Damien asked, wondering what was going on.

Harry didn't answer him. Instead he walked towards the door, where a confused looking Harry stood before him. Harry handed the compass over to the younger Harry.

"Take it." he said but the other boy didn't reach over to take the offered compass.

"What?" the bespectacled boy asked instead.

"I want you to take this." Harry explained. Damien was still standing next to the window, apparently frozen to the spot in confusion.

The younger Harry was staring at the older boy, not daring to believe what he was suggesting.

"I…I don't understand." He said.

"I know that all of this is complicated, but if you put it in simple terms, the beings of different universes are the same as their counterparts. You and me, we're the same being, the one soul, if you like. Therefore, my parents are the same as your parents. Damien is my brother, but you are my counterpart so Damien is your brother too." Harry paused to see that the other Harry was following him so far. "I think that you should get a chance to meet your parents, to see what life would have been like for you. Even if it's only for a few days."

For the first few seconds nothing happened. Then, Damien erupted in panic and threw himself at both Harrys.

"Harry! Are you mad? Have you lost it?! We can't take him with us! How are we going to explain where he came from?" Damien asked while the 'Harry' in question just stared at the older Harry and the golden compass.

"I'm not taking him with us. That would be insane." Harry calmly told his brother.

"Oh, good." Damien relaxed at that.

"I'm saying that he should take my place." Harry finished.

Damien just blinked at him. He turned to the other Harry before muttering 'excuse us' and dragging his brother to a corner of the room.

"Harry! Have you gone mad!? What are you talking about?" he hissed at him.

"I'm not mad. I'm serious." Harry stated.

"You want to swap places with him?! How is that not crazy talk?!" Damien asked him.

Harry drew Damien closer.

"Listen to me, Damy. Look at him." he gestured to the other Harry, who was standing next to the door awkwardly. "That's me. That is me, Harry Potter. It's not another person. This is my life in this other world. What happened to him would have happened to me if Peter had not taken me away. I think that if I had a chance to see the parents and the life I could have had then I would like to be given the chance."

Damien looked guiltily over at the skinny boy and felt his heart twist. He did deserve to meet his parents but Damien didn't want to lose his brother, his actual brother.

"You can't swap with him! It's not right." He argued.

"Neither is leaving him in this hell hole." Harry retorted.

"Why are you bothered? You don't care about others, why him?" Damien asked angrily.

"I care about myself." Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh come on, Harry! I'm not falling for that! Tell me the real reason!"

Harry paused for a minute before whispering to Damien.

"I don't want him to be used. I can see what Dumbledore is doing. Leaving him with people that don't care for him, letting him get hurt, go against Voldemort, it's all so he can turn him into a weapon, into the 'Chosen one!' I'm not going to let him win this. If Dumbledore wants to get rid of Voldemort, he should bloody well do it himself!"

Damien stepped away from Harry and stared at him, scrutinising him.

"Is that what this is truly about? You want to stay here because you don't want Dumbledore to win or is it because _he_ is still alive here?" Damien asked, his heart beating frantically fast.

"Damien, it's got nothing to do with him." Harry assured him.

"He's not the same, Harry. The Voldemort of this world never cared for you. He wants to kill you and if you try to get near him…"

"I know, Damien. Trust me; it's got nothing to do with Voldemort. He's not the same, I know that. I'm not planning on meeting him." Harry said.

Damien stared at Harry, not sure if he believed him.

"I'm not going back without you." Damien said stubbornly.

"I can't come with you. The whole point of this is so this Harry can know what it feels like to have parents. If mum and dad know he isn't really me and is from another dimension, they won't treat him the proper way. They will either send him back, yelling about instability and dimension equilibrium, or they will treat him like a stranger because that is what they will think of him. If they think he is me, then they will treat him the way they should." Harry explained. Damien was still not concerned. "Come on, Damy, it'll only be for a few days, just until you all leave for Hogwarts. What can go wrong in two days?" Harry asked.

"Where you're concerned, a lot!" Damien replied.

Harry smirked at that.

"Nothing will go wrong. If you just do what you're supposed to, everything will work out."

"What?! I'm not doing anything and neither are you! Dad will have my head if I go back without you." Damien said.

"You won't be going back without me, you will have him." Harry said, pointing at the other Harry, who was trying his best not to eavesdrop.

The two boys walked over to the younger Harry, Damien still pleading Harry to reconsider. Harry ignored him.

"Okay, here's the deal. You can go back to my world with Damien. I will stay here in your place. If I come with you it will only cause problems. I can do a charm that will change your appearance so you will look more like me and no one will know that you're from another dimension." Harry paused as Damien huffed at that sarcastically. He went on regardless. "In two days time, everyone will be leaving for Hogwarts, before they go we'll switch places again. No one will ever know." Harry finished.

"But, we go back to Hogwarts in September, that's a month away." Harry said, his spirits dampened by the knowledge that he would see his family for only two days.

"It seems that this universe is three years and about one month behind ours." Damien commented dryly.

"You come back after everyone else has left for Hogwarts. That gives you two days with your parents." Harry finished.

Even though it was only two short days, the idea that he could see his mum and dad, talk to them, be with them was making Harry feel like he was walking on air. He smiled brightly.

"I'm in." he said.

Damien was cursing under his breath. This was not going to work, something was going to go wrong, he could feel it.

"What if I need to speak to you? What if something goes horribly wrong?" Damien asked, trying to voice his fears.

Both Harrys looked at each other. Two days was a short period of time but still, a lot could go wrong. Suddenly, eighteen year old Harry pulled out his mobile phone.

"You got yours?" he asked Damien.

The younger boy pulled out the phone, a perplexed expression on his face. Harry took the two phones and touched his wand to them. At once the younger Harry spoke up.

"You can't do magic here. The Ministry have already issued me a warning. I'll be expelled from Hogwarts."

Harry was about to answer that it was no great loss but the fear in the other Harry's voice stopped him.

"My wand is different. It has the ability to do spells that can't be traced." Harry reassured him.

Fifteen year old Harry eyed the wand and found that it looked identical to his wand. Was it possible for both of them to have the same wand? Thinking about all this was giving him a headache.

Harry tapped the two phones with his wand and watched as they glowed an eerie red colour before fading back to normal. He handed Damien's phone back to him.

"There, if anything happens, you can call me."

Damien stared at the phone in amazement.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I used a connecter spell. It's pretty basic but it should work. It's essentially the same spell that is on the two way mirrors that mum and dad use." Harry explained.

"But will that work across dimensions?" Damien asked, sounding doubtful.

"I don't know, Damy. I've never tried it before." Harry laughed back. "In theory it should. I guess we'll test it out."

Damien was still arguing back but Harry ignored him and walked towards the nervous looking Harry.

"Ready?" he asked.

Harry eyed the wand again and his paranoia kicked in. Maybe this was a Death Eater in disguise. Maybe all he heard was crap and they were going to take him to Voldemort. But as Harry looked into the pair of identical eyes, he knew that everything that had happened was for real. This person before him was him. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing your reflection, but not in the sense of physical appearance but more like in the spiritual sense. He didn't know how to reason it with himself but he trusted the boy before him.

"Ready" he agreed.

Harry ran his wand over the boy before him and whispered a few spells. He watched as did a reluctant Damien, as the skinny, bespectacled boy grew taller, and his body filled out to match the Harry that was standing before him. Harry smiled in satisfaction. He looked exactly like him, except for the glasses. Harry waved his wand and muttered the eyesight correction spell and the other Harry blinked a few times, while taking off his glasses.

He looked at himself in the cracked wardrobe mirror and couldn't believe that the person blinking back up at him was him and not the other dimension Harry. He turned to stare at him.

"I can't believe this. This is…wow."

"Thank you." Harry said while stowing his wand away. "Now get going. You only have two days. Don't waste anymore time here." He showed both Harry and Damien how to work the compass. The outer ring was to move five places clockwise while the inner one was three places anti clockwise.

"I still think you should re consider." Damien said as the compass was put into his hand.

"Just relax. Everything will be fine." Harry admonished.

The younger Harry was busy, stowing away his wand into his pocket. He folded his glasses with care and placed them in his other pocket. He grabbed the photo album and tucked it into his jumper, which was still hanging off him despite his muscular form.

Taking advantage of the other Harry's distraction, Harry grabbed Damien closer and whispered to him.

"He's only going to be there for two days. There's no need to tell him about what happened with me and Peter. Just pretend I grew up with you guys, going away occasionally for training. Okay?" Harry said.

Damien looked into his brother's face and nodded his head in agreement. From hearing what this Harry had gone through at the hands of Voldemort, it was probably best not to tell him about the relationship they had shared in this dimension.

Harry moved away to give the other Harry room to stand close to Damien. The hazel eyed boy gave his brother a last look before spinning the inner ring three places. The compass started glowing, the five hands spinning madly. A golden light started emitting from the compass and engulfed the two boys. Harry stepped further away from them, not wanting to get pulled in as well. Harry watched as the two boys vanished into thin air along with the compass.

He let out a breath as he stood in the room alone. For the next two days he was going to stay in this world, while his abused counterpart spent the few days with his family. It was the right thing to do. Damien couldn't understand, he had never been deprived of his parents. He didn't know how much it hurt. Harry understood this pain and that was why he allowed the other Harry to have a few days living the life he should have had.

A shrill voice shouted his name again, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. He smirked at the sound. This was going to be very enjoyable. He was going to spend his two days with his aunt and uncle. He smoothed down his clothes and walked towards the door. It was about time he met his aunt Petunia.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry about the wait. I had family stuff taking all of my time. I hope you liked it. Please review!! Cheers!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!


	3. First day in a new world

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Here is the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three**

**_AU World_**

A flash of golden light faded and two boys stumbled onto cool grass. Harry reflexively reached towards his face, intending on checking his glasses. His fingers grasped the empty air in front of his eyes. He realised that his glasses were safely tucked inside his pocket. This was going to take some getting used to. He slowly rose to stand on his feet and looked at his surroundings. They were standing on a perfectly kept lawn, in front of an impressive Manor. The building was a creamy white colour and it radiated magic. Harry was staring at the acres of land that surrounded the Manor and couldn't help but gasp at the sight. He heard a chuckle behind him and turned on the spot to see Damien brushing his clothes and smiling at him.

"It is a sight." He said, in response to Harry's unspoken praise.

Harry nodded his head.

"Have you always lived here?" he asked, thinking that maybe in this dimension, the Potters had never lived in Godric's Hollow.

"No, we moved here a year ago." Damien answered, looking around to make sure they were alone and no one had seen them before tucking the gold compass into his pocket. "Come on, we better get inside."

Damien guided Harry to the main door of the Manor and ushered him inside. He had to get this Harry upstairs were he could prep him on how to act around his parents. He couldn't have him acting too emotional, that would be too suspicious. The situation that his brother had created meant nothing but trouble; Damien knew this but like always, he found himself going along with it. He only hoped that his parents understood the motive this time.

Damien and Harry crept quietly into the hallway. Harry took in his surroundings with fierce curiosity; he had never seen any place quite as impressive as this, with the exception of Hogwarts of course. But as much as he loved his magical school, he could feel himself falling in love with Potter Manor. It wasn't so much that the Manor was exquisitely luxurious or anything like that. It was more that it belonged to the Potters.

"Come on, this way!" Damien pulled Harry towards the large staircase and pointed to the first floor.

Harry followed him and was just on the first step when a voice made him stop.

"There you are! I have been looking all over for you two."

Harry felt his body stiffen in anticipation. He recognised the voice, even though he never knew he remembered it. Two years ago when the Dementors had attacked him for the first time on Hogwarts Express he had heard a single word, his name, being screamed in fear. That was the only reference he had to what his mother's voice had sounded like.

Slowly he turned around, his hand still gripping the handrail. He faced an approaching woman, his mother, Lily Potter. She was walking towards them, her red hair bouncing with each step, a dishtowel in her had which she was using to wipe her wet hands dry. Her brilliantly vibrant emerald eyes were fixed on him, on Harry. The fifteen year old felt all his breath leave him as he looked into a pair of identical eyes. He really did have his mother's eyes.

Lily came to stand in front of her two sons, who she had been looking for all over the house.

"Where have you two been? I looked everywhere." She complained, but there was a smile on her face.

Damien was simply panicking. He hadn't thought that his mum would apprehend them this soon. He needed to explain to Harry about how to act with both James and Lily. If he got too emotional now, their cover would be blown.

'Please, please, don't hug her, whatever you do, please don't hug her!' Damien silently pleaded as he came down the few steps he had rushed past.

"We…we were in the training grounds." Damien said, coming to stand beside the silent Harry.

Lily looked annoyed with Damien as she turned to face him.

"I told you to go upstairs and pack for Hogwarts. I'm warning you now Damy, if you leave anything behind, I'm not coming back to get it and Harry won't be running to Hogwarts with your things, will you, Harry?" she asked, turning to face him.

Harry didn't answer. He was too busy taking in everything about his mum. Her voice, her appearance and the way she was standing, her hands twisting the dishtowel as she told off Damien. He silently marvelled at how motherly she was even when she was telling off someone.

"Harry, what in the name of Merlin are you wearing?" Lily asked as she noticed the strange attire her son wore.

Harry snapped out of his daze and focused directly on the pair of green eyes, fixed questioningly on him. He realised that she had asked him something and was waiting for an answer. Next to him, Damien was starting to break out into a sweat.

"Harry, why are you wearing those clothes?" she repeated, taking in the haggard and baggy jumper and patched jeans.

Harry couldn't find his voice; he looked away not knowing what he should say.

"I did that!" Damien interrupted. "Yeah, I…I was just fooling around and changed his clothes to rags. I thought it was funny." He supplied, looking ashamed.

Lily tutted at him and looked back at the clothes. What was funny about changing clothes to rags? She could never understand male humour.

Lily was confused by Harry's strange behaviour. He was looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. The way he was acting was making her think he was upset about something, or maybe he was unwell.

"Harry, are you okay? You don't look too good." She said, reaching out to feel his forehead and check his temperature.

As her fingers brushed back his bangs and touched his forehead, Harry felt his breath clam up inside him. His heart felt like it was being squeezed by an unseen force and the corners of his eyes prickled with tears. He moved a step back and shook his head again, not knowing what to say or even how to say it; his throat felt too tight to allow any words.

Lily was looking completely lost by his behaviour. Harry used to move away from her before but lately he was starting to warm up to her. Seeing him move away from her like this made her feel like they were back to square one.

"Are you unwell? What's the matter?" Lily asked, perplexed with his behaviour.

Harry managed to mutter a quiet "fine, just tired…"

Damien jumped in.

"Yeah, yeah, we're really tired! We had a very long workout, we'll just go and rest. Come on, Harry." Damien pulled on Harry's arm, urging him up the stairs.

"You can rest after you've packed! I don't want to have to say it to you again." Lily said sternly.

Damien quickly agreed, pulling Harry up with him. Harry walked up the stairs, looking back at his mum every so often. Lily was more than confused. What had gotten into Harry? She shook her head and returned to the kitchen, thinking about his behaviour while finishing preparing dinner.

xxx

Damien threw open the door to Harry's bedroom and ushered the other boy into the room before closing it himself. He cast a silencing spell on the door, to avoid anyone eavesdropping.

He turned to see Harry walk towards the bed in a daze. He fell onto it and was staring at the ground, his mind caught up in the recount of the first time he saw his mother.

"Are you okay?" Damien asked, his heart swelling with pity for him.

Harry shook his head, his eyes unfocused and glazed.

"It's just…I never thought…this is very bizarre." he muttered.

Damien knew that no matter how hard he tried, he could never understand what Harry was going through. He came towards him and pulled the chair away from the desk, so he could sit beside this 'new' Harry.

"It is very bizarre." Damien agreed.

Harry looked up and his eyes met Damien's. He shook his head again.

"I never thought…This is something I always dreamed of, to meet my parents again. I mean I know that she's not _really_ my mum. I know that my real mum died and that this Lily belongs to this world, not mine." Harry was rambling. "I know that but…she's still Lily Potter, so in a weird way, she is my mum. And I got a chance to meet her, see her. It's just really weird to think that a few weeks ago, I saw her echo and thought I would never see her again or hear her voice and now, here I am, with her, where I can see her and speak to her and everything."

Damien listened without saying anything. It was hard for him to hear about the death of his mum and dad, even if it was in another world. He understood the attachment this Harry would have to this James and Lily. They were the same people, just in different worlds.

"If you feel like this with mum, wait until you meet dad." Damien said with a smile.

Harry's face brightened at the thought.

"Is he still at work, at the Ministry?" Harry asked.

"No, he used to be an Auror but he gave that up. He's the new defence Against the Dark Art Professor." Damien told him.

Harry wanted to ask why his dad was no longer an Auror. It seemed strange that his dad would give up a job like that. An Auror was what he wanted to be when he graduated from Hogwarts.

"Why did he leave his Auror job?" he asked.

Damien shifted in his chair and didn't look at him as he answered.

"He kind of fell out with the Minister, it's quite complicated." He trailed off.

"The Minister? But why would he…" Harry started but was cut off by Damien.

"It doesn't really matter." Damien said hurriedly. "I have to explain a few things to you, so you can pretend to be Harry. I mean, the Harry that should be here." he added afterwards.

"Okay." Harry responded glad to get some more information on his alternate self.

Damien took a deep breath, what should he tell him. His brother had said not to tell him the truth about how he was abducted by Peter and given to Voldemort to bring up. It wouldn't do this Harry any good to know that. His stay was only for two days so there really wasn't any need to tell him the truth. But how was he going to explain Harry's distant behaviour with his parents then?

"You should know something about Harry." Damien started, thinking about the best plausible explanation. "Harry didn't grow up with us." at the other Harry's questioning look he continued. "Harry was sent to a training facility, to learn skills that would help him and make him stronger. As a result, he was away from home and from us for a long time. He only started living with us properly a few years back." In a way, that was true.

"Oh" Harry responded. "That makes sense." He glanced down at himself. "This is why he looks like he does." Harry commented.

"Yeah, he trained a lot." Damien laughed, nervously for some reason. "Anyway, since he stayed away from mum and dad, he is a little distant with them. He didn't grow up with them and so sometimes he finds it a little difficult to deal with all their attention." Damien tried to keep as close to the truth as possible.

Harry was taking all of this in with full attention.

"Did you go on this training as well? Is it a common thing?" Harry asked.

Damien shook his head.

"No, Harry was…um, different. He was sent because he was more at risk from, from Voldemort, being the chosen one and everything."

The name brought a shade of anger in Harry. He recovered and swallowed back the feeling of hate swelling inside him. It was only then that he noticed the words Damien had added on at the end.

"Chosen one?" he asked.

"Yeah, you know, the prophesised one?" Damien supplied.

At Harry's blank look, Damien thought that maybe things were possibly different in his world.

"It might be only in this dimension." Damien said. A question came to him and he decided to ask it, to understand the differences in the two worlds better. "You said that your parents had taken you into hiding. Why did they do that? In this world, mum and dad took Harry to Gordic's Hollow to keep him safe because of the prophecy? If your world doesn't have that prophecy, then why did you all go into hiding?"

Harry looked lost. He had never wondered about that. He assumed that his parents were hiding from Voldemort because of his rising power. He had never thought it may be more than that.

"I…I don't really know. No one has ever told me what happened." Harry responded.

Damien nodded his head in understanding but felt a stab of annoyance at the other Harry. Why would he settle for that? Shouldn't he try to find out why his parents were killed?

"What is this prophecy about?" Harry asked, intrigued by the mention of it.

Damien knew that it wasn't a good idea to tell him about it. It would lead to difficult questions about Voldemort and his death.

"It's not really that important." Damien said.

"But still, if it's about Harry then I…" Harry was cut off by a sound downstairs. Both his and Damien's name was being yelled by someone. Someone who sounded very much like Sirius Black.

"Okay, we'll talk later. Just try to act distant with everyone but me." Damien said, standing up and walking towards Harry's wardrobe. He pulled out some clothes for Harry to change into.

"But, what is the point of coming here if I can't speak to my parents?" Harry asked, a little annoyed.

"I'm not saying not to talk to them! Harry _does_ talk to mum and dad. It's not like he hates them or anything." Damien said and then added 'not anymore' to himself.

"But you just said…" Harry started.

"I meant don't hug them or anything!" Damien said hurriedly.

Before Harry could say anymore, another shout made him stop.

"Here, get changed." Damien said, handing him Harry's clothes.

xxx

Harry followed Damien, as he wasn't familiar to the layout of the Manor. He followed the younger boy down the hallway and into a living room. At once, Harry noticed that although everything was clean, it was in no way similar to Privet Drive. At Aunt Petunia's place, everything was cleaned thoroughly and every item had to be in its place. The whole of Privet Drive had a sense of unnaturalness to it. But this place, his mother's house, had a very comfortable aura. Things were scattered around that gave the room a much lived in look; a few spare coins littered the fireplace mantel, a cloak was draped over the end of a sofa chair, there was a few books lying on the coffee table. It wasn't off-putting in the least. It made Harry want to snuggle on the comfortable looking sofa with one of the books.

Harry was so busy taking in his surroundings that at first he never noticed the adults in the room. He looked up as he noticed a dark haired man stand up and walk in his direction.

Harry stood at the spot in shock. He was expecting to see his dad, that was who he had prepared himself to face but the dark haired man standing before him wasn't James potter. It was Sirius Black.

Harry had once thought, when he first saw the escapee Sirius' picture in the Daily Prophet, that Sirius must have been a very good looking man and that Azkaban was responsible for taking away most of his beauty. Now that he was standing before this Sirius, he saw that he was right. The dark haired, incredibly handsome man was smiling at Harry, the sight made Harry realise that _his_ Sirius never really smiled anymore. It was empty, compared to the smile before him. The twinkle in his eye and health that glowed from him caused a painful pang in Harry's heart. This is what his Sirius should have looked like. He should never have gone to Azkaban.

"Hey, Harry? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, noticing the look on his face.

Harry forced himself to respond.

"Yeah, I…I was just thinking about something." Harry pushed his feet to move past Sirius and to stop staring at him.

Sirius looked a little confused but brushed it away.

Harry saw that Remus was also in the room, sitting next to a purple haired woman he had never seen before. Harry looked closely at this dimension's Remus. He still looked ill and his face was covered in scratches. So he was still a werewolf in this dimension. That was interesting. He did notice that his clothes weren't shabby or patched though. He was dressed in casual robes of bottle green and looked quite happy, sitting next to the purple haired woman, who was smiling and talking to Remus quietly. They looked like they were a couple, sitting close to one another and smiling and whispering to each other. Harry thought the woman looked a bit young for Remus but whatever made him happy.

Remus looked up as Harry walked over to him.

"Hey, Harry. How are you?"

Harry saw the familiar look of concern in his eyes and the warmth in his words. It was reassuring to see that Remus was the same as his other self.

"I'm fine, how are you, Professor?"

That was Harry's first mistake.

The word 'Professor' slipped out without him meaning it. Harry stilled, mentally berating himself for being so careless. He hoped that Remus had taught at Hogwarts in this dimension as well, so he could cover his mistake. However, from the looks of shock and confusion on everyone's faces, Harry realised with a sense of dread that Remus had never taught.

"Professor?" Remus questioned, looking somewhere between amused and confused.

Harry looked to Damien for help, and saw the fourteen year old looking possibly more nervous than he was feeling. Sirius was staring at Harry, waiting for the punch line.

Finally Damien let out a laugh and walked over to Harry.

"Good one, Harry!" he said, giving Harry a light punch on the arm before throwing him a discreet look that read as 'Shut up and play along!'

Remus was looking confused but stayed seated and waited for an explanation.

"Me and Harry were just talking about how all the really good Aurors should quit and become Professors. You know, like dad did." Damien explained.

A look of understanding filled the other three Aurors' faces and they looked at Harry with amusement. Harry just smiled as pleasantly as he could.

"Oh, right. So what did you two have me teaching?" Remus asked his Godson with a smile.

"Care of Magical Creatures, what else?" Damien smoothly answered.

Remus laughed and Harry sighed with relief. He had to be more careful, he nearly messed things up.

"What about me?" it was Sirius who asked the question.

"You would definitely be our Quidditch teacher." Damien answered.

"What about me, Harry?"

Harry turned to see that it was the stranger with purple hair that asked the question. She was looking at Harry with a smile and was waiting for his answer.

Harry looked at her with a loss as to what to say. He didn't know who she was so how was he supposed to know what class she would be best suited to teach? She was looking at Harry with a playful smile, while Remus and Sirius sniggered with laughter.

"We haven't decided what you would teach yet." Harry answered, not knowing how else to answer.

Sirius let out a roar of laughter and the purple haired woman huffed playfully, pretending to be insulted.

"My class should be obvious!" she said.

Harry was still looking lost but before he could say anything, Damien jumped to his rescue.

"Oh, come on, Tonks. You know we're only playing with you. Who else could teach Transfiguration but you?"

Tonks smiled at him and turned to wink at Harry, who in return just smiled awkwardly. He would have to remember to ask Damien who this woman was.

"Well, just because your dad is joining the staff of Hogwarts, doesn't mean the rest of us can as well." Remus said.

"Hmm, sounds like someone's jealous, eh Moony?"

The voice came from behind Harry and he turned around to face the newcomer. He was expecting to see his dad soon but the sight still took his breath away. There, standing next to the door, holding a plate of food, stood his dad, James Potter. No matter how many times Harry had peered in his photo album and studied his dad's face, he could never have appreciated just how alike he was to him. Seeing him the flesh, standing a mere foot away, Harry saw the uncanny resemblance between them and it made Goosebumps erupt all over him.

James was smirking at Remus' direction as he walked inside.

"I don't know, Prongs, you know what they say; those who can't, teach!" Sirius said before letting out another bark of laughter.

James picked up a Yorkshire pudding from the plate he was holding and stuffed it into his best friend's open mouth.

"Here, chew on this, mutt!" he said playfully.

Sirius obliged and started munching away.

"People, come and eat. James! Where did the plate of Yorkshire puddings go?" came Lily's voice from the kitchen.

Everyone got up and started to walk into the kitchen. James spotted Harry just standing in the room, a strange sort of smile on his face.

"Coming, son?" he asked, holding to door open for him.

Harry looked at his dad and felt his heart swell with happiness.

"Yeah…dad." The word rolled off Harry's tongue naturally and a tingle went through him. He was talking to his dad!

James smiled as well and led his son through into the kitchen where they all sat together to dinner.

As a blissfully happy Harry sat next to Damien, his mind wandered to Privet Drive. He wondered how the other Harry was getting on.

--

_**Canon World**_

At Privet Drive, Harry walked down the staircase and turned towards the kitchen. The morning light had lit up the house and Harry could see the place more clearly. He didn't pay it much attention though. He walked towards the door that he knew from last night to be the kitchen door.

He walked past the small door that was the cupboard under the stairs and Harry stopped beside it. He opened the unlocked door and looked inside at the crammed, small, dark place, remembering what the other Harry had told him. He had grown up in there, locked away like unwanted junk. Harry tore his eyes away from the cupboard and fixed it on the door leading to the kitchen.

He pushed open the door and walked inside a spotlessly clean kitchen. He looked around and saw a thin woman taking mugs out of the cupboard for tea. Harry was surprised at her appearance. Being his mother's sister, Harry was expecting someone with some sort of resemblance to Lily. But what he saw before him was a very skinny woman with short blond hair. She had an abnormally long neck and her face reminded Harry of a horse. Harry wondered if maybe he was mistaken and she wasn't aunt Petunia.

The woman didn't see Harry and turned her face to the ceiling before letting out a shrill "Harry!"

'Yep, she's Petunia all right!' Harry thought to himself as he walked further inside.

"There you are! About time…!" Petunia stopped at the sight of Harry. She had heard his footsteps and just started yelling at him before turning to properly face him. Now that she faced him she saw a very different Harry.

At first she was taken aback and had actually thought of yelling for Vernon. There was a stranger in their house! But then she recognised her nephew's features and realised that the much older boy standing in front of her was in fact Harry Potter. He wasn't just older looking, he was missing his glasses and his body had filled out, so he wasn't dreadfully skinny anymore. He was wearing clothes that she knew Dudley had never owned and they seemed to fit him. It was as her eyes travelled up to his face that she noticed the smirk.

"What have you done?!" she hissed at him.

Harry looked down at his body and looked back up at his enraged aunt.

"What this? Oh, it's nothing. I made a 'mind and body' strengthening potion last night. Glad to say it worked out quite well, don't you think?"

Harry openly laughed at the look of shock and disgust on his aunt's face.

"You…you…you did what?!" she screeched.

"I made a pot…"

"Don't say it again!" Petunia panicked before rushing to the window to close it.

She turned to face a much amused looking Harry before spitting out,

"Where did you make this…this, thing!?" she demanded.

Harry opened his arms to gesture around him.

"Here, where else? I brewed it last night, in a cauldron, right there, on your stove." Harry said pointing to the gleaming appliance.

Harry had guessed that the woman was attached to her kitchen, seeing as it looked like it had just been newly built. He knew it was a good thing to use to upset her.

He was right.

Petunia gave a very girly scream before her hands flew to her cheeks. She turned to her precious stove and flew towards it, checking it from all corners, as if she was going to spot some of the 'filthy magic' still there, like burnt on food, tainting it.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic woman as she checked her stove before turning to her worktops and examining them with frantic panic.

When she was certain that nothing had been damaged she turned to face Harry. Her face was twisted with anger and her nostrils were flared so much, it looked like flames were about to leap from them.

Harry was not affected one bit. He knew that no matter what uncle Vernon wanted to do and however he wanted to treat Harry, he wouldn't have abused him if his aunt, his mother's own sister, had stopped him. She was more to blame than Vernon, as she was the one who was related to Harry and she failed to protect him.

"How dare you!" Petunia hissed at him. "How could you use my kitchen, my home, to use your…your…freaky, unnatural…"

"Simple, really." Harry cut across her. "I used a cauldron except for a pan and made a potion, similar to the way you would make soup. Only difference is that I used ingredients like eye of newt and tongue of…"

"Stop! Stop! I don't want to hear it!" Petunia yelled, looking like she would be sick any moment.

"Petunia, dear. What's the matter?" a voice said from behind them.

Harry turned around at the familiar voice. He knew the voice belonged to Uncle Vernon. He had heard his voice last night but hadn't seen him. The sight took his breath away. The man was just as tall as he was wide. His face was awfully red, and his large moustache looked strange sitting under his nose. He had almost no neck, when his wife looked like she had taken his due too. His small beady eyes were fixed on Harry and he too had a look of shock written over his face before he recognised him.

"You…you boy! What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded, forgetting his wife for a moment.

Harry didn't reply, he didn't have too. Petunia dived into the explanation, sobbing about how her kitchen was tainted with freaky rituals.

"He…he used horrid things, in my kitchen, in our _house_! Eyes of…of…oh, I can't repeat it!" Petunia said, throwing her bony hands across her chest.

"I can. Shall I?" Harry asked in mocked politeness.

"You will not say a word!" threatened Vernon as his face continued to grow red. He was trembling with anger.

"Okay, I won't say a word. How about a sentence?" Harry asked, thoroughly enjoying the look of rage spread across the obese man's face.

"I have tried, again and again but you just won't listen! You don't have any respect for my home or my rules. You just…" Vernon trailed off, his small eyes darting across the kitchen. He suddenly turned to Harry, a purple vein pulsed horribly in his forehead. "Last night, when I saw you in the hallway, you said you were up to get a glass of water. You lied didn't you? You were up doing your hocus pocus, weren't you?" he demanded.

Harry smirked in response.

Vernon straightened up to his full height, which now made less of an effect as Harry was taller.

"That is it, boy! You have had your warnings! You are to be locked in your room! You are not to leave it at all! That is your punishment." His tone of authority did nothing to Harry.

Harry pretended to think over the punishment by dropping head and looking lost in thoughts. He looked back up and said a single word.

"No"

Uncle Vernon looked at the boy before him with a shocked look. Petunia looked like she was about to faint.

"What?"

"I said, no. I don't agree with your punishment." Harry stated coolly.

"It's not up for discussion!" Vernon spluttered, enraged at the audacity his nephew had to argue with him.

"Well, it is now. I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not taking any punishment." Harry responded.

Vernon had enough.

"That is it! Cupboard! Now!" he yelled his temper out of control.

He made to grab Harry to drag him to the cupboard. In Vernon's muggle mind he thought the change in Harry's appearance was only a physical illustration. He didn't think the boy had developed true strength in one night. Therefore, he was very surprised when he felt his hand caught in midair in a tight grip and suddenly it was pinned painfully behind him. His weight was used against him as he was pushed up against the wall, his face smashed into the wall. He was vaguely aware of Petunia's horrified scream behind him.

"I think it may be in your best interest to never try that again!" Harry hissed dangerously in his ear.

That was when Vernon knew.

This wasn't Harry. He couldn't be Harry. His nephew Harry could never pull such a stunt. He was stubborn and cheeky and talked back all the time but he would never threaten him, never.

"Who…who are you?" he asked, feeling true fear.

Harry released him and turned him around. It was a testament to Harry's strength that he was able to control a man the size and weight of Vernon Dursley. Vernon looked up into the smirking face.

"Don't worry, Uncle. It's still me, Harry Potter. But I've decided to stop taking the usual crap dished out to me." Harry's green eyes darkened just a shade but Vernon caught it. He gulped in fear and tried to move away from him but he was pressed up against the wall. He had nowhere to go.

The next thing Vernon knew, he was being grabbed by his collar and was dragged out of the kitchen. He stood facing the cupboard under the stairs. Vernon didn't understand what was happening. He could hear Petunia whimpering behind him but couldn't turn around to face her due to the strong grip Harry had on him.

Harry opened the door to the small cramped cupboard.

"In" he commanded.

Vernon turned to look at Harry, disbelief written across his face.

"What?"

"Get in." Harry explained, gesturing to the cupboard.

Vernon couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't going to be treated this way in his own home! It was outrageous!

"Harry, you can't do this! It's inhuman!" Petunia cried, she knew for someone Vernon's size, the cupboard was going to be extremely uncomfortable. She wasn't even sure if he would fit.

Harry turned to look at her. His expression was still calm but a strange fire erupted in his green orbs.

"Funny, you didn't think it was inhuman when I was forced to live in here for ten years."

Petunia was lost for words. She stared at Harry with wide fearful eyes. Harry looked away from her and turned his attention back to his uncle.

"Come on, uncle. You were quick to lock me in here, go in yourself and see what it's like. Maybe then you will think twice about locking anyone in here."

Vernon was not going to go in there. Just looking at the dark small space was making him feel claustrophobic.

"Dad? What…what's going on?"

All three turned to the stairs to see Dudley standing there. Harry took in the form of his cousin. He was big, like his father but he wasn't that bad, yet. His eyes were fixed on Harry and his dad and he was visibly scared. He didn't recognise Harry, not straight away.

"Who are you? What are you doing to my dad?" Dudley started towards his cousin but was suddenly pushed back by an invisible force. His eyes widened in fright as he saw the wooden stick in the stranger's hand.

Petunia and Vernon both screamed as they saw Harry point his wand at their son.

"You can't…you can't use that! You'll be expelled!" Vernon cried as he tried to get out of Harry's tight grip.

"Not this time. I made some changes, I can do all the magic I want and the Ministry won't know a thing!" Harry could visibly see the effect his words had on the three muggles. They all shrunk with fear and Dudley moaned pathetically. Harry turned his wand on him and Dudley hit the wall and was pushed up against it. He heard both his uncle and aunt cry out.

"You, stay! Good boy." Harry ridiculed Dudley before turning back to his uncle. "And you, in!" Harry said.

At once, Vernon moved towards the cupboard.

It wasn't a pretty sight but Vernon finally managed to squeeze himself into the confining space. Harry cheekily waved goodbye to him before slamming the door closed and locking it with an audible click. He turned to face a very white Petunia.

"I think we should have some breakfast now, I feel like having bacon. Do you think you can make some for me?" he asked with false sweetness in his voice.

Petunia nodded her head, obviously too afraid to speak and ran to the kitchen. Harry spared a single glance towards Dudley, who was still pressed up against the wall, as if he were stuck to it.

Harry ignored him and walked into the kitchen. He would free both Dudley and Vernon after a few minutes. He wasn't going to leave them in their torturous state for long. He was only making them _think_ he was going to leave them.

As he sat down at the wooden table and watched a panicked Petunia hurry to make his breakfast. He could see tears track their way down her face but she was sniffing them back. The sight made no difference to Harry. He knew that his alternate self must have shed untold tears in this house and no one in this household had made any attempt to wipe them away.

He sat back as Petunia put a big plate of breakfast down before him. Harry ate his breakfast with one thought on his mind; the two days he had in this world were going to be spent making sure that none of the Dursleys would ever mistreat Harry Potter again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry about the long wait, family stuff, too long to get into!

I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought! Please tell me what you thought about both Harrys encounters.

P.S I know that my Harry may seem really cruel in this chapter but remember who brought him up and what torture he went through in his childhood. Harry would never stand back and let someone else abuse a child, and in this case, it was his alternate self that was taking the abuse. He was bound to do something!

Please review! Cheers!


	4. Learning the facts

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all the great reviews! Here is the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Four**

**_AU World_**

Dinner was a pleasant affair. Harry hardly ate anything though as he was too busy taking in the people around him. He noticed straight away how cheery and laid back Sirius was. He was different from the Sirius in his world. Of course, losing your best friend and spending twelve years in Azkaban would harden anyone.

Harry watched the scene around him with a strange feelings blossoming inside him. He was sitting at dinner with his parents and Godfather. This was what his life was meant to be like, not being ignored by his aunt and uncle. Harry felt something hit his foot and he jerked up to see Damien looking at him with a frown. He whispered from the corner of his mouth,

"Stop staring! You're going to make it obvious something is wrong."

Harry looked away and focused on his full plate of food and tried to eat something but it was difficult as his appetite had seemingly vanished.

After dinner was over, Damien grabbed a hold of Harry and dragged him upstairs. The adults were happy to leave the two boys alone and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Upstairs, Damien locked the door to Harry's bedroom and let out a sigh.

"Oh God, I didn't think we would make it through the night. I was sure some one would pick up that you were acting strange."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how to act." Harry said, genuinely sorry at nearly messing things up.

"No, no, it's okay. You did good, just watch for comments like 'Professor'." Damien replied.

Harry could feel his face heat up at his slip. He ducked his head to save himself some embarrassment.

"What was the deal with that, anyway? Is uncle Moony a Professor in your world?" Damien asked, not noticing the red blush on the other boy.

"He taught Defence Against the Dark Arts in my third year. After that he had to leave since everyone found out he was a werewolf." Harry answered, still feeling bitter resentment towards Snape, who was the one to let the secret out.

Damien looked confused.

"Why does that matter?" he asked.

"I don't know to be honest. Remus said that most parents would object to him teaching their kids, in case he attacked them on full moon. He was the best teacher we had but he was forced to resign because of his, well, his condition." Harry looked up at Damien. "So, he's an Auror in this world?"

Damien nodded his head.

"He joined the same time as dad and uncle Siri. He's been working alongside them ever since they graduated from Hogwarts."

Harry smiled at that. It was nice to know that in this world the Marauders stayed together, with the exception of Peter of course. The thought reminded Harry that he had not learnt what it was Peter had done that caused his departure. He would have to find out during his stay.

"So, who is your Defence teacher now?" Damien asked, taking a seat opposite Harry on the bed.

Harry shook his head.

"I don't know. We have a new teacher every year but no one has lasted more than a year." Harry answered.

Damien's eyebrows rose at that.

"Really? Why is that?"

"Something always happens to them. Some think the job is cursed. It sure seems that way." Harry said pulling his legs up on the bed and settling more comfortably on the 'other' Harry's bed.

"Like what?" Damien asked, intrigued by this.

"Well, the first one was Professor Quirrell. He was a good enough Professor. He only had one problem; Voldemort was sticking out the back of his head."

Damien's eyebrows disappeared underneath his bangs and he spluttered in shock.

"What?!"

"Voldemort was sharing his body, as he was without one himself." Harry explained. "Needless to say Quirrell didn't last very long. He was trying to get to the Philosopher's Stone, a stone that would help Voldemort come back. I don't even know how, but Hermione, Ron and I got involved and we stopped Voldemort before he could succeed. In our second year we got someone named Gilderoy Lockhart as our Professor." Harry waited to see if the name rang any bell to Damien. When Damien didn't show any recognition to the name, Harry continued. "He was a fraud, taking credit for others work and oblivating them afterwards. He was also let go at the end of the year, as he had oblivated himself by accident and couldn't remember anything, not even his own name."

"Oh?" Damien said and Harry could see compassion for the Professor in Damien's hazel orbs.

"Don't feel bad for him. He was trying to oblivate me and Ron because we had brought him into the Chamber of Secrets. He was planning on taking all the credit."

Damien's expression changed.

"Got what was coming to him then." Damien commented.

Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah"

"What is this Chamber of Secrets?" Damien asked with curiosity.

"It's a chamber that was build by Salazar Slytherin. It's an underground chamber, beneath Hogwarts. It was opened in my second year and Ginny as taken into it. Ron and I had gone to help get her out."

Damien blinked at him.

"You…you rescued Ginny?" he asked with barely hidden mirth.

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked with a frown.

"No, it's nothing. Please go on." Damien said, not wanting to say how similar some things were between the two Harrys.

"Third year was the best, Remus came and we actually learnt something. His teachings came in very handy when I was attacked by Dementors. The Patronus charm Remus taught me saved my life, not to mention a few others as well." Harry continued.

"You learned the Patronus charm in your third year?" Damien asked, wide eyed.

"Yeah, but it was only me. I was targeted by the Dementors more than the rest so Remus taught me it during private Defence lessons." Harry replied.

"And what about last year? who was your Professor?" Damien asked, engrossed in Harry's excitement filled life.

It took Harry a moment or two to gather his nerves. Last year was probably the worst, as the end resulted in the death of Cedric and the rebirth of Voldemort.

"Last year, we had Mad-Eye Moody, or I should say, a Death Eater disguised as Moody." Harry told the events of his last year to a wide eyed Damien, going through the re-account of how Bartemis Crouch fooled everyone by polyjuicing into the Auror Moody. Harry told him everything about how he had helped him get through the tournament just so he would be delivered right to Voldemort.

By the end of it Damien was speechless. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, wondering what he should say. Finally he managed to speak.

"Merlin, Harry! You've had quite a life at Hogwarts."

Harry looked at the other boy with a regretful expression.

"I would happily swap it. I would do anything for a peaceful life. A life with no Voldemort and no life threatening adventures. I would rather live with a family and do normal things, like the Harry of this dimension." He added.

Damien fought to hide his reaction. With a firmly controlled voice he answered.

"Yeah, sure."

xxx

Lily finished clearing the table and distractedly started on the dishes. Her mind was on Harry and how strangely he had been acting. First when she caught he and Damien sneaking back inside after training. Harry was just staring at her as if he had never seen her before. She knew he had been upset about something. She had caught sight of tears in his eyes but like always, he acted like nothing was wrong. And tonight at dinner, he hardly ate anything. He was too busy staring at Sirius and Remus and she even caught him looking at Tonks with a confused expression.

Damien kept whispering to him as well about something. Being their mother, she could tell something was wrong. They seemed…different with one another. The usual antics of her two sons were missing today. Instead they seemed distant. Harry was certainly quieter and the way he kept smiling at her, it was unnerving to say the least.

Lily looked up as the door behind her opened. She looked around to find Remus come inside.

"Okay, Remus?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I thought I would keep you company." Remus said this while flicking the kettle on.

"And make tea for everyone in the process." Lily laughed.

"I do make a rather good cup." Remus said as if that explained his strange desire to make everyone a cup of tea after a meal.

Lily shook her head and went back to finishing her chore.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Remus asked as he set out the mugs.

"It's nothing…probably." She added quietly. She looked at Remus and saw the concern in his eyes. "I don't know if it's just me or what but, Harry seemed a little different to me."

Lily was both relieved and concerned when Remus nodded his head in understanding.

"I know what you mean. I noticed that too." He said.

"You did?" Lily asked.

Remus told her about the 'Professor' comment.

"…and I know that Damien said they were just joking but that's the thing. Harry never jokes around about things like that. And you should have seen the colour drain from Harry's face when he said the comment. He wasn't smirking or being sarcastic. He was genuinely shocked that the word had slipped past his lips. He looked to Damien to do the explaining, that's what I found the strangest thing of all." Remus finished.

Lily nodded her head.

"I know, I noticed that too. Harry's expressions are different. There is no sarcasm in his words and he seems, I don't know, younger to me. Just in his expressions and the way he speaks, it's as if he's lost his confidence." Lily sounded saddened by the end of that.

"I think his mind is still preoccupied with Rodolphus and everything that happened. I mean it's only been a few weeks. And with all of you leaving in two days time, he's probably starting to regret being here alone. That would explain his sudden change in moods." Remus offered.

"I don't know, Remus. Wouldn't he just get moodier if that was the case?" Lily asked.

Remus smiled sadly at Lily.

"That's the thing Lily, we don't know. Sometimes we forget that we only met Harry two years ago and he's only been with us for a year. What is normal for him and what's not is unknown to us."

Lily nodded her head, Remus was right. Maybe Harry was acting like this because they all were leaving for Hogwarts and he was going to be here alone. Maybe Harry was taking everything in about his family with such interest because he knew he was not going to be with them for much longer.

Unknown to Lily, her last thoughts couldn't have been any more accurate.

xxx

While the adults drank tea in the living room, on the upper level Harry and Damien continued to share stories.

"Dad taught Defence last year. He really enjoyed it and I think it's safe to say that the students liked him as well. Dad's pretty famous in Hogwarts, being a Marauder and everything so he was well received." Damien laughed.

Harry smiled, his dad in Hogwarts, teaching his favourite subject, that was a comforting thought.

"Who taught the class before dad?" Harry asked, silently loving the way the word rolled off his tongue.

Damien grew a little subdued before answering.

"It used to be Professor Snape." He replied.

Harry shot up straight on the bed.

"Snape?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah" Damien replied quietly.

"Back in my world, he's been after the job for years. Professor Dumbledore won't give him the position though." Harry relayed.

"Well, in this world, Professor Snape taught the Defence class for years. He was actually very good as well. Hardly anyone failed in his class." Damien added.

"So what happened to him? Why did he leave?" Harry asked.

Damien shifted uncomfortably on the bed.

"He…he died, last year."

Harry had never liked Snape, not one bit. His cruel taunts in Potions and his clear dislike for him made it easy for Harry to hate him. Even so, the news of the greasy haired Professor's death made Harry suck in a breath and his heart to skip a beat.

"Oh, that's…that's terrible." Harry said in a thin voice.

"Yeah, he wasn't the most loved Professor of Hogwarts or anything, but he did help us out, at a time when he really needed him." Damien remembered how the spy Death Eater had risked his life to save Harry.

"Snape helped you? I thought he hated dad, at least he did in my world." Harry said.

"Dad and he never got on. They fought all the time when they were at Hogwarts. But both of them were part of the Order so they learned to get along." Damien explained.

Harry looked confused again.

"Order?"

"The Order of the Phoenix. You know, the secret group formed by Professor Dumbledore to fight against Voldemort?" Damien said, not believing that Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have started a similar group in the other world.

Harry shook his head.

"I've never heard of it." he said uneasily.

Both boys looked at each other in discomfort.

"Maybe, your dimension didn't have one." Damien offered weakly.

Harry nodded his head but he had a feeling that his Headmaster would definitely have done something like that. It was such a 'Dumbledore' type of thing to do.

The silence stretched out between the two boys. Finally Harry spoke, to change the topic.

"I wonder how Harry is getting on." Harry said, feeling it strange to say his own name like that.

Damien nodded once before suddenly standing up and reaching into his pocket.

"How could I have forgotten about this!?" he exclaimed as he pulled out his phone.

Harry perked up and watched Damien pull out the phone. This was going to be interesting. If such a connection could be made between two worlds, it would be an amazing.

Damien shared a half excited and half nervous look with Harry before pressing the 'call' button on his phone. He brought the phone to his ear and gave a triumphant cry as he heard the ringing tone. His phone was attempting to connect to its partner phone, which was in a different world altogether.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry observed the large room with a disdainful expression. Everything was covered with either a flowery pattern or pink lace. He eyed the large bed with the flowery bedspread and shuddered with disgust. He turned to look at the two very afraid looking adults next to the door.

"It's needs redecorating, but it'll do." he said before taking out his wand.

He heard two muffled gasps behind him and turned to smirk at them.

"Quiet now, unless both of you want the cupboard." He taunted, enjoying the look of fear it presented in both adults.

Petunia looked to Vernon and the largely obese man opened his mouth but then closed it again. It was difficult for him not to retaliate. A part of him wasn't accepting that his nephew was ordering him around. The other part of him was telling him to shut up and not repeat the last half hour of his life.

Harry changed everything in the room, absolutely everything. The flowery pattern on the walls melted to a deep royal blue colour and the bedspread changed to emerald green. The flowers in vases disappeared altogether as did the some twenty framed pictures of a whale of a boy, sometimes known as Dudley.

Petunia squeaked her disapproval and earned a glare.

"Something you want to say, aunt Petunia?" Harry asked.

"Why are you taking over our bedroom? What is the matter with your room?" she bravely asked.

"Other than the fact that its less of a room and more like a large closet, nothing." Harry answered.

"Look here, bo-Harry" Vernon quickly corrected and lowered his voice. "You have to understand. If you take over our room, where are we supposed to sleep?" he asked.

"Hmm, lets see." Harry mocked. "Don't know, don't care." He said before lifting his wand to finish his redecorating.

Vernon and Petunia were still standing next to the door, watching in morbid horror as their 'pleasant' looking room was changed by Harry's 'freaky, unnatural' methods.

"There, all better." Harry said, taking stock of his surroundings.

He turned to see Petunia looking like someone had died, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, aunt Petunia. This would never have happened if you had given me a proper bedroom right from the beginning. As it happens, I get to choose what room I want and I want this one." Harry said this as he jumped on the bed and lay quite comfortably on the silk bedspread.

"What's happened to you? You were never like this?" Petunia sobbed as she saw the cruel smirk on his face.

Harry put his hands behind his head and smirked widely at her.

"Harry grew up." he said before flicking the door to close on them.

xxx

It was just as Harry had closed the door on his aunt and uncle that he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. He smiled to himself as he realised that his spell had worked. He quickly pulled the phone out and answered it.

Damien's voice rang on the other end.

"Hello? Harry, is that you?"

Harry smiled; he couldn't believe he was talking to Damien who was in another dimension.

"No, it's the local pizza delivery guy. What's the matter with you?" Harry asked, earning a laugh in response.

"I can't believe this! We're actually talking to each other but we're in two different worlds! How is this possible?" Damien's excited voice asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Harry asked.

"No, not really." Damien answered.

Harry lay on his comfortable bed, a hand tucked under his head while the other held the phone to his ear.

"How did it go? Did everything work out alright?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, it was fine. No one is suspicious or anything." Damien answered.

"Good" Harry responded. He really wanted everything to go smoothly for the other Harry. He deserved it.

"Um, Harry. The other Harry is asking if everything went okay with aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon." Damien asked curiosity in his voice as well.

Harry smiled again.

"They don't know what hit them. Literally!" Harry laughed.

"Harry, what did you do? You better not do something…"

"Relax, Damy. They're still breathing, be thankful for that." Harry teased.

"Harry, that's mum's sister!" Damien said, sounding appalled.

"I know, but it seems she may have forgotten that fact. I just reminded her." Harry stated simply.

"Are they not suspicious by your behaviour? Or better yet your appearance?" Damien asked.

"I told them it was due to a potion I made. I figured that would be the best since in two days time when we change back, Harry can just tell them the potion wore off."

Before Harry could say anymore, a tapping at the window distracted him. He looked to the large window and saw an incredibly beautiful snowy owl, sitting on the ledge, hooting at him.

"Hold on, Damy." Harry said as he got off the bed and went to the window.

He opened the window and let the owl jump inside. There was a letter tied to its foot but the owl wasn't holding its foot out for him. Harry could read the questioning gaze of the bird as it stared at him, tilting its snowy head to the side as it tried to figure him out.

"Damy, ask Harry of he owns a pet owl."

Harry could hear the question being asked by Damien.

"Yeah, Harry says it's a white owl." Damien relayed back to him.

"What's her name?" Harry asked, keeping eye contact with the bird.

"Hedwig" Damien replied after repeating the question.

"Alright, listen Damy, I'll talk to you later. Take care of things and don't let anyone get suspicious." Harry instructed.

"You could just say, 'Damien, make the world orbit in the other direction!" he snapped playfully.

Harry laughed as he disconnected the call and turned his attention to the bird. The snowy owl had its amber eyes fixed on Harry.

"Hedwig" Harry started. "Is that letter for me?"

Hedwig hooted in what seemed to be 'no!' and hoped away from Harry.

The raven haired boy laughed as he watched the bird 'glare' at him.

"You're one intelligent bird, aren't you?" he mused. "You're right, the letter is certainly not for me, but I'm still Harry Potter so you should deliver your letter to me." Harry said as he gently reached for the letter.

Hedwig seemed to be confused. It was tilting its head in a bid to look at Harry more carefully and hoping away from his outstretched hand. Harry knew that the bird had recognised that the boy before her was not her master but at the same time, he felt like Harry Potter. That was what was confusing her.

"If you think I'm going to explain myself to you, then you're mistaken." Harry said, feeling quite silly talking to a bird. "Just know that I am Harry Potter, as far as you are concerned. Any mail for Harry Potter should come to me, so hand over the letter!"

Hedwig scrutinised Harry one last time before holding its leg out. Harry untied the envelope and freed the bird from its weight.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he said as he brushed the bird's head in a gentle patting manner.

Hedwig waited until Harry stopped patting her head before moving forward and biting his finger, hard.

"Ow! You bloody bird!" Harry cried as he pulled his bloodied finger away from her.

Hedwig took off and flew out of the window, hooting at him. Harry shook his head, her actions were clear to understand. She knew he wasn't her Harry but since the magical bird could pick up his aura and knew he was Harry Potter she was going to deliver mail to him, but she wasn't happy about it and showed this by biting him.

Harry saw his name printed in neat writing and knew, before opening the letter that it was from Hermione. The other Harry had told him and Damien that he was best friends with Ron and Hermione.

Harry lay back on his bed and opened the letter, curious to see what the Hermione of this world had to say.

xxx

"I'm telling you, he's not Harry!"

"Vernon! Shh, he'll hear you!"

Vernon ducked his massive shoulders and glanced behind, dreading to see the 'impostor' glaring at him. He relaxed when he saw that no one was behind him. It was just him and Petunia in the kitchen. Dudley had shot out of the house as soon as Harry had released him from the wall. He still wasn't back yet.

"Petunia, dear, can't you see that the boy upstairs isn't Harry. He could never speak to us and do, do what he did! He doesn't have the guts!" Vernon said, shuddering at the memory of being in that horrid cupboard.

"Vernon, it is Harry. You know what he said about making that….that thing, that potion thing! It's obviously changed him, his appearance and his behaviour." Petunia said, furiously scrubbing the spotless pan. Vernon was sitting at the table, talking quietly with her.

"How can you be certain?" Vernon asked, his beady eyes set on his skinny wife.

Petunia stopped her scrubbing and debated whether she should tell her husband the truth. She decided to get it over with.

"The night he was left on her doorstep. The letter that accompanied him said that 'precautions' were taken to ensure his safety and ours. I know exactly what these 'precautions' are, they were explained clearly. They will keep him safe and if someone was to ever take Harry away from here against his will or if someone took his place, the alarms would go off and those, those people would come, the ones who left him here. If the boy upstairs isn't Harry, I doubt he would even be able to set foot in here."

Vernon's eyes were wide with fear and disgust. He looked around the kitchen, eyeing the walls like they were infected with a gruesome disease.

"Why did you never mention this letter?" Vernon asked.

"You were upset as it was with the appearance of the boy. I didn't want to add to your misery." Petunia said sadly.

Vernon knew that there wasn't much he could do now about the letter. Getting upset with Petunia was pointless.

"It's okay, dear. There isn't anything that can be done about that now." He told her.

Petunia sniffed back her tears and continued to scrub the poor pan.

"What should we do now?" Vernon asked, feeling despair at the thought of another month with the aggressive teen.

"First thing is first." Petunia replied, wiping her hands dry, a determined look on her horse like face.

"We have to sort out where we're going to sleep."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just a note to explain; the chapters will always start with cannon Harry in my AU world. My Harry in cannon world will follow after that.

What did you think? Please review!! Cheers!


	5. Problems

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! Here's the next chappie! Enjoy!

**Chapter Five**

**_AU World_**

Lily and James woke up at the same time and for the first few minutes they couldn't figure out why. James was usually impossible to wake and would only get out of bed when he absolutely had to. But today he woke up at the same time as Lily. Both looked at each other with surprised expressions. Then they heard the faint sound of someone downstairs. Lily muttered 'Damien' and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She glanced at the clock next to her and saw that she was only half an hour or so late than usual. She figured that Damien must be awake and was looking for his breakfast. Thinking about the mess he would make if left to his own devices, she hurriedly got out of bed.

Both James and Lily got up and got ready for their last day of the summer holiday. Tomorrow they were going back to Hogwarts. They hadn't discussed what Harry was going to do on his own, they never got a chance what with one thing happening after another, but they knew what good that conversation would do in any case. Harry was far more adult a boy of eighteen should be. He had made his decision and was no doubt sticking to it.

James and Lily were walking downstairs when they spotted a very sleepy looking Damien making his way downstairs as well. Lily was surprised to see that Damien was not the one who had woken them up. But then that meant Harry was the one in the kitchen.

Lily, followed by James and Damien, opened the kitchen door and stood in shock at the sight inside.

Harry was there, already dressed, and was in the process of making breakfast. The sight made all the sleep vanish from Damien's eyes. He was staring at him, mouth opened in shock. Lily and James were speechless. Harry _never_ made breakfast, so what was this all about?

"Harry?" Lily voiced.

Harry looked up from the stove, preparing eight juicy sausages, and smiled at his family. 'There it is again' Lily thought as she saw the strange smile on her son's face. It was a very sweet smile, but it was very different from his usual smiles.

"Morning!" Harry chirped, oblivious to the surprise this caused.

"What…what are you doing?" James asked, eyeing the stack of toast on the table and the plate settings already in place.

"I'm making breakfast." Harry answered.

Damien snapped out of the shock he was in and almost ran over to Harry.

"Harry, you _**never**_ make breakfast." He said, emphasising the 'never' while giving him a discreet panicked look.

Harry looked taken aback for only a second before recomposing himself.

"I know, I just thought that before you all leave for Hogwarts, it would be nice if we all had breakfast that I prepared."

Lily felt something tug at her heart at hearing this. She shared a surprised look with James. This was not something she ever expected to hear from Harry. The last few weeks, he had been acting like he wasn't going to notice their absence and now he was making a special effort for them.

"You didn't have to, Harry." Lily managed to say from behind the lump in her throat.

"It's not anything big, just breakfast." Harry replied, a hint of shyness creeping into his voice.

Harry ushered his family into their seats before bringing the rest of the food to the table. Lily was very pleasantly surprised at how well the food was cooked and how he managed to leave the kitchen tidy after cooking. She wondered if this was because of Voldemort as well. She remembered the last horrific memory she had seen of Harry's childhood and how at the age of four, he was expected to make dinner. The recollection made her eyes burn and she discreetly wiped them dry.

"This is very good." She said, clearing her throat. "If I knew you were a good cook, I would have asked for your help with all the meals."

Harry just smiled at the compliment and ducked his head. James was too busy munching his way through the sausages to say anything. He did throw Harry thumbs up sign before returning to the food. Damien was hardly eating. He felt as though the bottom of his stomach had dropped out and he couldn't bring himself to eat anything.

As soon as breakfast had finished, Damien grabbed Harry and headed upstairs.

"What are you playing at?" he glowered the moment they were safely inside the room.

"What?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Do you want to get caught? Is that why you pulled such a stunt?" Damien asked angrily. "Harry never makes breakfast, never! He doesn't help with any chores at all. You could have easily blown your cover!"

Harry looked surprised but answered calmly.

"Well, he should help out. It's unfair that mum does all the cooking."

Damien stared at Harry.

"That's beside the point!" he snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry but I wanted to do something for mum, your mum." He corrected at the look on Damien's face. "I'll be returning to my world tonight and I just…I just wanted to do something nice."

Damien softened at that.

"I understand but you should have checked with me first. You can't do something that the other Harry would never do, that would just make mum and dad suspicious that you're not Harry even though you are Harry just not their Harry. Am I making sense?" Damien asked, looking confused himself.

"Vaguely" Harry answered but grinned at the younger boy, making him smile too.

"Are you okay about tonight?" Damien asked as they walked back downstairs. Harry seemed to grow tense and he nodded his head with a jerk. "I'll come into your room after the rest have gone to bed." Damien confirmed.

Harry nodded his head with a heavy heart. Two days weren't long enough to get to know your family. He had hardly spoken to his parents. He had spent his time like a silent observer, just taking in the surrounding people with a rabid thirst. He had to make this experience last him the rest of his lifetime. He wished he had a little longer though.

Harry and Damien had just walked into the living room when the fireplace turned green. Harry and Damien watched as a tall figure walked out of the green flames and brushed his cloak clean with a gloved hand. He brushed his long blond hair behind him with elegant grace and surveyed the room with cold grey eyes. His gaze set on Harry and a rare smile graced his pale face.

Harry was staring in shock at the man. Never did he imagine that Lucius Malfoy would floo to Potter Manor and stand before him like he was invited! Harry knew that the man before him was the Lucius Malfoy of this world but that didn't stop him from reaching for his wand. He only stopped when he felt Damien's hand on his, stopping him from pulling out his wand. Harry was having flashbacks of the Lucius Malfoy in his world. The last time he had seen senior Malfoy, he was laughing and ridiculing Harry as he was tied to the Riddle gravestone and was tortured by Voldemort. A hate so fierce filled Harry from the inside as the memory came back to him that it was all he could do to stop himself from attacking the man.

Harry's mind registered the strange fact that after stopping him from reaching for his wand, Damien hadn't made any move against Malfoy's presence. He was looking at the man with a pleasant, if rather forced, smile.

Malfoy came to stand before the boys and nodded his head tightly in Damien's direction. Harry realised that he was speaking but his shocked system couldn't make sense of the words. He forced himself to listen.

"…I was hoping to find you home. I wasn't sure where to look for you these days."

Harry realised, with a sudden jolt, that Malfoy was speaking civilly to him and the usual sneer was missing. He was smiling at him, almost in the way that Sirius smiled at him, like an uncle or fatherly figure. This made Harry react in the worst way.

He crossed his arms across his chest and took a step back, a scowl on his face. He crossed his arms in a bid to keep himself from reaching for his wand again. He figured that Lucius wasn't going to harm him as Damien would have called for their parents if he was a Death Eater in this world. But that didn't stop Harry from still hating this man.

"What do you want?" Harry spat coldly.

Lucius was taken aback. He stared at Harry, trying to figure out why he would speak to him in this manner. What had he done recently that would make Harry speak so coldly towards him?

Damien tugged at Harry but Harry ignored him, his hate for senior Malfoy was making him unwilling to hear anything.

Lucius cleared his throat.

"I was informed by Draco that you had not come by to visit him these last few days. I was heading to the hospital myself and wanted to see if you would like to accompany me."

Harry was completely lost. What was going on? Why was Draco bothered that Harry had not met him recently? They couldn't be friends in this dimension, could they? No, that couldn't be right. Did he say he was going to the hospital? Was Draco sick or hurt? Harry couldn't clear his mind quick enough to answer but Damien was already taking control of the conversation.

"Harry was just helping us, since we're in the process of getting ready to leave for Hogwarts. I'm sure he'll visit Draco later on, maybe tomorrow?" Damien said, looking to Harry, wanting him to agree.

Lucius looked to Harry for his response.

"Draco's looking forward to seeing you. If you could come today…" Lucius trailed of.

"I can't come today. Like Damien said, I'm busy. I don't have the time." Harry answered, confused to his core about what was going on.

Lucius' face lost even more colour and Harry was certain he caught the glimpse of hurt in his eyes. He hid it behind his mask of indifference and looked away from Harry. He brushed down his robes and looked behind him to the fireplace.

"Well then, I better go. I don't want to hold you back from your _busy_ schedule."

Lucius turned and swept from the room. He walked into the fireplace and disappeared in the swirl of green flames.

As soon as he left, Damien turned on Harry.

"What the hell?! Why did you talk to him like that!?"

"He's a Death Eater in my world and he was with Voldemort when he tortured me." Harry explained in a hushed voice.

"But that was in your world. You can't just assume people are the same as they are in your world. As it happens, Harry is very close to Lucius. The way you spoke to him was not right." Damien said, thinking what his brother will say about the incident. He conveniently avoided verifying if Lucius was a Death Eater or not in this world also. That would be too difficult to explain without the whole truth.

To say Harry was shocked was an understatement. His eyebrows disappeared under his bangs and he spluttered in shock.

"He's a friend?! How is that possible?" he asked.

"That's not important." Damien dismissed. He noted how his response annoyed Harry but he didn't fight it. Instead he focused his attention to another difficult topic, Draco.

"What was the deal with Draco? Why did Lucius want Harry to visit him? And why is he in hospital?"

Damien shifted uncomfortably. How was he supposed to answer this without giving away too much?

"Draco is…he's Harry's best friend." He answered.

Harry's reaction was priceless. He gaped at Damien, his eyes wide and round. A very high pitched word that sounded like 'what' was emitted from him as he stared at the other boy, as if he had grown another head.

Damien fought to hide his grin but couldn't as Harry looked like he had frozen in shock. Finally he managed to clear his throat and he asked,

"How…? What…? When did this…? How could this happen?"

Damien laughed, making Harry frown at him.

"How is this funny?" Harry asked with a huff.

"Sorry, I guess from your reaction, you're not too fond of Draco Malfoy in your world." Damien asked, with barely hidden amusement.

"I hate him, but probably not as much as he hates me. We've fought ever since first year. I can't believe I would ever, even an alternate form of myself, could ever be friends with the sorts of Draco Malfoy!" Harry said with annoyance.

Damien shrugged his shoulders as he sat down.

"Well, you are friends with him, and not just friends, _best friends_. You've been together since you were kids. Harry doesn't trust anyone as much as he trusts Draco." Damien tried but he couldn't keep the bitterness away from his voice at the last statement.

Harry noticed it and sat down opposite Damien.

"I can tell you're not that happy about that." He said.

Damien shrugged again but this time it wasn't as indifferent as he tried to make it seem.

"It's just…I don't really get on with Draco. Sometimes it gets to me that being Harry's only brother, he doesn't count on me as much as he does on Draco. I understand it but that doesn't make it any easier."

Harry nodded his head in understanding.

"What house did Draco belong to?" Harry asked, wanting to understand how he could be friends with 'arrogant and self centred' Malfoy.

"Slytherin" Damien answered.

Harry looked worried.

"And Harry?" he asked uncertainly.

Damien smirked.

"Which house do you think he would be in?" he asked.

Harry knew that the sorting hat had considered placing him in Slytherin. It was his own plead that had resulted in his placement in Gryffindor. But what about this Harry? Maybe he didn't ask the sorting hat to put him in Gryffindor. Maybe he was placed in the house of Slytherin. That would explain his friendship with the Slytherin prat, Malfoy.

"Tell me he's not a Slytherin?" Harry pleaded.

Damien's smirk fell away from his face. He couldn't say that because in a sense, Harry was a Slytherin. He was marked at Voldemort's heir, the last descendant of Slytherin. That made him a _Slytherin_. Damien cleared his throat.

"He was in Gryffindor." He said quietly.

Harry let out a breath of relief.

"Oh God, you had me going there." He laughed. After a few moments Harry asked, "So Draco went on this training as well then?"

Damien looked at him confusedly. He had no idea what he was talking about.

"Training?"

"Yeah, you know that training that Harry was sent on when he was younger? The one you told me about?"

Damien remembered the lie he had fed him.

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Damien replied.

"You said that Harry and Draco were friends since they were kids. If they were in different houses in Hogwarts then they must have become friends before that. So were they in the same training group?" Harry asked.

Damien didn't know how else to answer.

"Yeah, yeah they were in the same group."

Harry thought this over and then shook his head.

"Strange world this is; the Malfoy's are not Death Eaters and Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are best of friends. Can anything else be stranger than this?" he laughed.

Damien smiled back but answered Harry under his breath.

'You have no idea!'

xxx

Harry spent the rest of the day with his parents. Damien was lurking around, keeping an eye on how things went and was ready to jump in if Harry did anything out of the ordinary. But things went smoothly for Harry.

He helped Lily prepare lunch and enjoyed every second of cooking with her. He loved the way his mum talked; her voice was much sweeter than her sister's. Aunt Petunia had a shrill voice that always hissed at Harry. But Lily had a wonderful sweet voice. Her words were gentle and kind. She smiled a lot. Harry liked that the best about her, her smile.

After lunch he spent time with James. Harry quickly realised that James was not like any father he had imagined. He was not strict and didn't shout or yell at either him or Damien. He was casual and more like a friend. He laughed a lot; Harry found that his laugh was infectious. If he started laughing, everyone would join in. James was everything Harry had wished for, especially at times when uncle Vernon would grind his teeth at him or yell uncontrollably at him for the most petty of reasons. At those times, Harry had wished his dad was with him.

It was just before dinner and both James and Damien were getting ready for dinner. Lily had ushered Harry out of the kitchen saying that since it was the last mealtime they were having together as a family, she would do all the cooking. They were leaving for Hogwarts in the morning.

Harry wondered out into the garden and noticed the Quidditch pitch. He should have figured his dad would have one in his back yard. He walked over to it and sat on top of a raised stone platform, about three feet tall that was used to hold the Quidditch box full of supplies. He sat in silence watching the sunset with an ache in his heart. He was going back to his world in a few short hours. His two days were up and soon after dinner, when James and Lily fell asleep, he and Damien were going to use the compass to go back. Harry knew when he came that he had to go back. He didn't belong here. He belonged to his world, to Privet Drive where he was hated and ignored, to the world that didn't believe him that Voldemort was back, to the world that had the Dark Lord waiting to get to him again and Harry knew if he faced him again, he wouldn't survive.

Harry let out a sigh and watched the sky as it turned pink with the sun settling. What wouldn't he give to stay here? In a world that had his parents, in a world that had a happy and successful Sirius Black, in a world where Voldemort had been defeated. Harry still didn't know how that feat had been accomplished and by whom? He was so busy in taking in his new world and his family that he had completely forgotten about it.

Harry was lost in these thoughts and so didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching behind him. He only realised that someone was behind him when he felt two hands wind their way across his chest and embrace him from behind. Before Harry had a chance to react he heard a familiar voice whisper in his ear.

"Thinking about me, I hope."

Harry whipped around to see who was embracing him. The first thing that he registered was the red hair and then he took in the face of his best friend's sister. Ginny's smiling face greeted him and Harry let out a yelp of surprise before toppling of the stone in shock. He fell sideways and fell to the ground, face first.

"Oh! Harry! Are you alright?" Ginny asked as Harry fell out of her arms and onto the cool grass.

Harry picked himself up in haste and tried to look composed.

"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine, I just…you surprised me." He managed to say coherently.

Ginny fought to hide her amused smile. This was the first time she had seen Harry being careless. She knew he had good reflexes and usually he never lost his balance in anything. But today he looked so cute trying to cover his fall.

"Sorry to startle you. I just thought I would surprise you." She giggled.

Harry was trying not to stare at her. This Ginny was obviously older than the Ginny he remembered. This Ginny was three years older, she was seventeen and the Ginny in his world was only fourteen.

"What, um, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, wondering why she was alone.

"I came to see you. I figured that after tomorrow, I won't see you again until Christmas and I couldn't stand the thought of being away for so long." Ginny moved closer to Harry as she spoke, making Harry take a few steps back. What was going on? Why did Ginny want to see Harry?

"Oh, um, yeah that's true." Harry said lamely.

Ginny stopped and stared at Harry.

"What's wrong with you today?" she asked as she noticed his uncharacteristic nervousness.

"Hmm, nothing. Nothing is wrong, why?" Harry answered.

Ginny was staring at him in a way that made Harry certain she was going to pick up that he wasn't this world's Harry. She walked over to him, a scrutinising look on her pretty face. Harry smiled at her and tried not to get nervous. He stiffened as Ginny wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned in close to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry answered, rather breathlessly. Harry had suspected that Ginny was more than friends with the Harry of this world. Her words and actions were certainly pointing in that direction. Now he was certain.

Ginny moved away as she felt Harry's discomfort in her embrace. She looked a little hurt that Harry was moving away from her.

"I'm really going to miss you, Harry." She said in a quiet whisper.

"Uh, yeah, me…me too." Harry stuttered.

Ginny looked at him, her eyes locked with his. She was staring intently at him.

Harry gulped, he didn't like the way she was looking at him. It had suspicion written all over it.

xxx

Damien was just leaving to go out and call for Harry, dinner was ready. He opened the door to find Harry and Ginny heading towards the house. Damien did a perfect double take at the sight of Ginny. When did she get here?

Damien noticed both were walking quickly and not a word was spoken between them. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"Ginny! Hey, when did you get here?" Damien asked as the pair walked inside.

"Just a few minutes ago. Professor, I mean Mrs Potter, told me Harry was outside so I went to see him first." She explained.

"Oh" Damien looked to Harry to see is he could read from his expression what had happened. Harry wasn't looking at Damien though.

At that moment, Lily appeared out from the kitchen.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where everyone was. Ginny, are you staying for dinner?" she asked.

"No thank you, Mrs Potter. Mum's expecting me home." Ginny replied.

"Oh, okay then." Lily said before disappearing into the kitchen again.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Damy." Ginny said to Damien.

"Yeah, see you." Damien replied.

He moved a few steps away to give the 'couple' privacy. He wasn't going anywhere far though. Ginny turned to Harry.

"Keep in touch if you can." She said before hugging him again. She leaned in to kiss him but Harry moved his face so the kiss landed on his cheek and not his lips. Damien, who was discreetly watching, covered his eyes and groaned. His brother was going to have to do some major damage control with Ginny when he came back. Ginny pulled away and looked quite hurt with Harry's deliberate move. She whispered her goodbyes and left to use the floo.

"Ginny! Wait a second." Damien called after her. He caught up with her in the living room and saw how upset she was with Harry's 'cold' behaviour.

"Gin, don't mind Harry. He's had a really big fight with dad today. Dad was trying to get Harry to come to Hogwarts and Harry got into a big argument with him about it. He's not in a very good mood today. It's nothing to do with you." Damien consoled.

"I don't know, Damy. He wasn't his usual self at all today." She said unhappily.

Damien patted her on the arm.

"He'll be back tomorrow." He said holding back his smirk.

xxx

Damien walked back into the hall to see Harry still waiting for him. Ginny had just left using the floo. Harry turned to face Damien, who had a sheepish grin on his face. For the first few minutes no one spoke, then Damien cleared is throat.

"I guess I should have told you about Ginny, huh?" he asked, his grin still on his face.

"It might have helped, yeah!" Harry answered.

Damien laughed and soon Harry joined in. The two boys disappeared into the room upstairs to talk.

"I can't believe Harry is dating Ginny." Harry said as they sat down. "She's Ron's sister! His _sister!_ I can't believe Ron would be okay with this!" he continued, imagining what his red haired friend would do to him if he ever dared to date Ginny.

"Ron is actually quite happy." Damien answered. "Ginny kind of had a crush on Harry for a long time. Ron was happy for his sister when Harry returned the same feelings."

Harry shook his head again.

"Ron's sister, I'm sure there is a rule somewhere about dating your friend's sister."

"Really? What does it say?" Damien asked.

"Not to do it!" Harry answered.

Damien laughed heartily at that. He was going to miss this Harry. He was quite funny.

"Well, with the way you acted with her, I'm sure Harry will have a lot of work to do to make it up to her." Damien said.

Harry looked horrified at him.

"I didn't do anything! I think I acted really good considering the circumstances." He huffed.

Damien laughed again at his expression.

"I'm only pulling your leg. I told Ginny that you had another fight with dad and that was why you were kind of off with her."

"Another fight?" Harry asked, picking up the word instantly.

Damien cursed under his breath, he had to stop doing this.

"You know how it is, you argue over silly things. Harry sometimes gets annoyed with the way dad goes on about things." Damien explained.

"I thought dad was quite laid back actually." Harry commented.

"He is, it's just, when it comes to Harry and some things he does, dad can get a bit over protective and that doesn't sit very well with Harry." Damien tried to explain.

Harry thought that over. He was starting to question his other self and what his personality was like. He seemed very sure of himself, he was a lot stronger and Harry was assuming from all the training he had that he was magically very advanced. His relationship with his parents seemed strained though. He had a great relationship with his brother but he wasn't close to his mum or dad. Harry pondered the reason for this. Was it really because Harry had lived away from them for so long he couldn't fit in with them anymore or was it something else. Harry felt himself beginning to doubt what he had been told. There was more to this story, a lot more than Damien was letting on.

xxx

Harry lay in the bed, his eyes fixed to the high ceiling. He had really enjoyed his last dinner with his family. He felt like the two days had passed in a blur. It felt painful to even think about what he was returning to. His tiny room in Privet Drive, his uncle and aunt's snide remarks about him being in their way, the accusing stares he would no doubt get from everyone at Hogwarts when he returned.

A sharp knock jerked him from his thoughts. He sat up in bed as the door opened and Damien walked inside. He was clutching the golden compass in his hand and was creeping into the room as quietly as he could. Harry quickly got out of his bed and stood up. He had already changed into his own clothes, the ones he had on when he came to this world.

"Are you ready?" Damien asked.

Harry nodded, he noticed the excitement in the other boy's voice as he asked the question. He was obviously glad the swap had come to an end. Harry could understand, Damien was under a lot of pressure, trying to keep the truth from his parents and others.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Damien said as he held up the compass.

Harry looked around the room for the last time, trying to take in as much as he could about this alternate life he was living. His eyes swept passed the large mirror and he stopped to gaze into it. He still looked like the other Harry. The charm he had placed had not worn off yet. It felt weird to look in the mirror and not see your reflection.

Harry checked all his items, his glasses, his wand and his photo album. He had everything with him.

"Okay, ready?" Damien asked as he faced Harry.

"Yeah, let go." Harry answered.

Damien turned the outer ring clockwise five times and the inner ring three times anti clockwise, just as he had done before. He held the compass tightly in his hand as Harry looped his hand into his free hand.

"Damien, thank you for everything." Harry said sincerely.

"Don't worry about it." Damien smiled back. He held the compass up and waited for the golden light to appear.

It didn't.

Damien waited a few more seconds, growing more and more concerned with the lack of activity from the compass. Damien shook the compass and stared at it.

Nothing.

It was not doing anything. There was no glow, no light, the five hands were not spinning madly out of control, they were all pointed in the north position and refused to move. Damien stared at it in growing horror. He let go of Harry's hand and moved the rings back to the starting point and then back again. Still nothing happened. Panic was now staring to grow in Damien. He started fumbling with the compass, trying to get some sort of reaction from it. Nothing he did made any difference to it.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, eyeing the compass.

"I don't understand…it's not working! I'm doing everything I'm supposed to! I don't…It's not working!" Damien was now in full panic mode. He moved the rings in every direction and did everything he could to make the golden compass react. Nothing happened to it. Not a single difference came over it.

Damien turned to face Harry.

"Oh Merlin! This is bad; this is so very, very bad!" Damien said, his voice breaking in alarm.

"Why is this thing not working?" Harry asked, not that he was in any rush to go back, he was just curious.

"I don't know! I can't get it to do anything!" Damien was ready to throw the damn thing out the window, but he refrained himself. It was the only thing that could bring his brother back.

Damien put the compass down carefully on Harry's bed and took out his phone. He mentally braced himself. This was one phone call he didn't want to make.

--

**_Canon World_**

Harry felt the vibrations of the phone and answered it almost immediately. What he was not expecting was a panicked Damien on the other end.

"Harry! Harry! Something's wrong, I can't get the compass to work, I don't know what's happened, its not working!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Harry said, trying to make sense of the words. He heard Damien take a shuddering breath before he spoke clearly.

"I've tried to use the compass and nothing is happening. I've moved the rings the way you showed me and nothing is happening." Damien relayed, speaking a little slower but just as alarmed.

Harry's heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean it's not working? What did you do to it?" he asked.

"Nothing! I swear I didn't touch it until just now." Damien cried.

Harry had started to pace the length of the room.

"It can't have just stopped working! Something must have happened to it." Harry said.

"I don't know what's happened to it! I picked it up just now and I moved the rings but nothing is happening. No light, no glow, the hands are all pointing north, I don't understand." Damien exclaimed.

Harry let out a sigh of frustration. He had not expected something like this to happen. Everything was going according to plan. Why did the compass stop working?

"Okay, Damien, tell me exactly what you did, your precise actions."

Damien explained everything to Harry. By the end of it, Harry was still no closer to figuring out why the compass had stopped working.

"Okay, look, the only thing you can do now is put the compass somewhere safe. Put the compass into a box, wooden one if you can manage and put it away, somewhere cool and dark. Keep it out of direct sunlight, okay? It needs to restore its energy." Harry instructed.

"Do you think that may be the cause?" Damien asked, grateful to have some sort of explanation.

"I don't know for certain but maybe the compass isn't meant to be used frequently. We used it twice in the space of a few hours. Maybe it had to recuperate its energy before it will work again." Harry explained with growing frustration. He was stuck here until the compass regained its magical capacity.

"How long will that take?" Damien asked.

"I don't know, Damien! It's not like I've done this sort of thing before!" Harry snapped at him.

"Well, no one asked you to do it this time either!" Damien snapped back. "I told you something could go wrong but you wouldn't listen. 'what can wrong?' well you got your answer!"

"Damien, shut up and just do as I say!" Harry said annoyed.

"I'll put the compass away like you said, but for how long? When should I try it again?" Damien asked.

Harry thought about this.

"Try it for a week."

"A week!?" Damien cried.

"It may take longer. It takes ages for reserves to fill again. It took me ten days to get my magical energy stores back up after that transfer. Merlin knows how much energy that compass needs for it to work again." Harry told Damien miserably.

"What about Harry?"

"What about Harry?" Harry repeated.

"What should we do about him? He can't just stay in Potter Manor for a week by himself. What if something happens?" Damien asked.

Harry cursed, this was getting messy.

"Tell him to stay in the Manor and to floo call you or mum and dad everyday. If he doesn't call you one day, send mum or dad to check on him. Whatever happens and however long this takes, Harry can't go to Hogwarts. I'm serious Damy, if Harry goes to Hogwarts, Dumbledore will figure out he's different and everyone will find out he's from another dimension. He can't go to Hogwarts, okay?"

"Okay?" Damien agreed.

Harry hung up the phone and felt his anger reach boiling point. He had tried to do something nice and what happened? It blew up in his face. Now he was stuck in this dimension for Merlin knew how long and back home, the other Harry was going to be stuck in Potter Manor for a week by himself.

Harry suddenly got up and headed to the door. He went downstairs and walked out of the front door, not bothering to say to the two adults, where he was going. Harry knew he needed to get some air. He had to calm down, otherwise he would end up killing someone.

xxx

The weather was so hot it felt like there was no air. Harry could feel his shirt stick to him as he walked along the deserted street. Everyone was inside their homes, seeking shade and trying to stay out of the sun.

Harry kicked at an old can, sending it across the road noisily. His foul mood was not going away. He couldn't believe his plan had backfired like this. He still couldn't figure out why the compass would stop working. His only theory was the one he told Damien.

"Next time, don't do anything nice for anyone; it doesn't work out for you." He growled to himself.

Harry soon found himself walking into a muggle park. It was empty, deserted. He walked around the park, trying to pacify himself. It wasn't so bad for him, he was actually enjoying himself, tormenting his aunt and uncle. But he knew that would only keep him entertained for so long. It was the thought of the other Harry. He was afraid that the other Harry would go to Hogwarts, since he didn't pass into a different dimension to stay in a Manor by himself. If he went with the rest of the Potters, he would run the risk of being exposed. Dumbledore would probably be able to work out that this Harry was different right away and Merlin knew how he would use that knowledge to his advantage.

Harry heard the sound of boys talking a distance away and he looked up to see who else was outside like him. He saw a group of boys walking past the park. He didn't recognise any of them, not that he expected to. That was when he noticed the bulky form of one of the boys, the one that the others were referring to as 'Big D'.

Harry smirked. It was his cousin, Dudley and his friends. Harry watched as the group talked excitedly about beating someone up and made fun of their victim. Harry started walking after them, listening to their words, without any of them being aware.

He watched as slowly the group started to thin down; one boy at a time left the group, bidding goodbye and heading to his home. At last it was only Dudley left. Harry sped up so he could reach his cousin.

"So, 'Bid D' how's it going?" Harry asked, startling the boy into turning around.

Dudley's face lost colour rapidly and he looked like was going to be sick. He gaped at Harry, his eyes round and sharp.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

"I also happen to live here. I can come outside for a walk, you know." Harry answered.

Dudley turned around and started heading for his home, mostly ignoring Harry.

"So did you have fun? Beating up a ten year old who is probably a third of your size must have been awfully satisfying?" Harry taunted.

Dudley's face grew red but he kept his mouth clamped shut. He wasn't going to fight with Harry, not when he saw the recent changes in him.

Harry on the other hand couldn't help himself. His mood had brightened at the prospect of taking out his frustration at being stuck here, out on his cousin. He knew the boy deserved it, as his recount of his cowardly fight illustrated.

"Leave me alone." Dudley said, in a quiet, yet annoyed voice.

Harry laughed a cold laugh that made Dudley turn to look at him in surprise.

"Oh, no Dudley, I don't think it's that easy." Harry watched with satisfaction as the boy paled.

"Why are you doing this? You were never this…this…"

"Mean?" Harry supplied.

"Yeah" Dudley agreed.

Harry smirked.

"You know what they say; you are how you are brought up. I'm only giving to you what you supplied me." Harry said.

Dudley coloured.

"We never did anything to you! You only got punished when you did something…'freaky'!" Dudley whispered the last word.

"Freaky?" Harry repeated the word with a hiss.

Dudley was taken aback instantly. His piggy eyes darted to Harry's pocket, where he knew Harry's wand was kept. Harry, to give reason to the fear Dudley showed, reached for his wand, making Dudley panic.

"You can't use that! It's an unfair…unfair fight!" he started.

Harry shrugged.

"Maybe I don't care anymore." Harry said, making Dudley take a few steps back, his eyes glued to the wand.

"Harry! Stop it!" Dudley warned, not convincingly.

"Or what?" Harry asked.

Harry was only teasing his cousin. He wasn't going to do anything to him. It was just very entertaining to see his cousin squirm in fear.

"I mean it, Harry! Stop it! Put it away!" Dudley squeaked.

Harry was still holding onto his wand when it happened. The street lamps all of a sudden went out, plunging them into darkness. Dudley let out a squeak but Harry hardly noticed it. He was distracted by the sudden change that took place. The stars high above them seemingly disappeared and the sticky heat they were suffering suddenly changed to an unexplainable cold. Harry was sure his breath was misting before him.

He gripped onto his wand and was ready for an attack, his body held taunt and ready to move at any moment. He knew what was coming their way; it was clear from the signs around him. The small muggle town had visitors; Dementors had come to Little Whinging.

xxx

"What are you doing?" Dudley's panicked voice asked somewhere to Harry's right.

"I've not done anything!" Harry hissed back at him.

"Cut it out now! You've done enough! Put the lights back on!" Dudley whined.

"Dudley, shut up before I break your mouth!" Harry warned.

Dudley must have believed the threat as he didn't say another word. Harry strained his ears to pick up the sound of the rattling breath or to smell the stench of the rotting flesh. He faltered a little. He hated these awful things, really hated them.

"Dudley, stay close." Harry instructed. He heard a grunt in response and chose to ignore it for now.

It all happened very suddenly, the first thing that registered in Harry's mind was the memories. They came so fast that they blinded him. His mind was assaulted with images, terrifying images of Harry's past; Voldemort dying, the destruction of Bella as the Dementor stole her soul, Draco falling to his knees with a dagger sticking out of his back, and many of Harry's nightmares came alive as the memories flooded him.

It was only lasted a matter of seconds but it was enough to leave Harry feeling ill and very weak. He gripped his wand tightly and thought about his family, the ones he now had in his life; his parents, his brother, his girlfriend.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry said in a clear voice and Nagini came thundering out of his wand. Harry watched as the giant serpent patronus lit up the darkness around them and bit into the Dementor standing before Harry.

Harry watched with satisfaction as the Dementor fled from Nagini, screeching in a horrid way.

"There, that wasn't so bad was…" Harry trailed off as he turned around; expecting to see Dudley's frightened form next to him, but found no one next to him.

Harry felt his heart jump in fear as he saw the scene before him. Dudley was not standing next to him; he was lying on the ground a few feet away, drenched in sweat and moaning inaudibly. He had his eyes shut in fear and was whimpering in pain. The reason was crouching over him. A Dementor was bend down over him and was pulling his wrists away from his face, its rotting hands pinned Dudley's hands to the ground. Its hood was already lowered and it was lowering its mouth to Dudley's, intending to give him the Kiss.

The sight made Harry's stomach lurch. He swerved his wand, directing Nagini to stop the Dementor. Nagini was just in time. The serpent smashed into the Dementor, knocking it away from Dudley who was crying freely now.

The Dementor acted like it had been burned and flew away from the patronus, hissing in way that made Harry think it was in agonising pain. As soon as the Dementors left, Nagini faded away. The lights flickered back on again and the cold that had penetrated Harry was instantly replaced with the heat of the summer.

Harry was breathing heavily. He had come very close to allowing the Dementor to Kiss Dudley. The boy may be obnoxious and a bully, but that didn't merit the Dementor's Kiss.

Harry was at Dudley's side immediately.

"Dudley? Dudley? Are you okay?" he asked, shaking the boy's shoulder.

Dudley moaned and covered his face with his hands. Harry had no option. He glanced around him, just to make sure the street was still deserted before grabbing Dudley and apparating straight to Dudley's room at Number Four, Privet Drive.

Harry had already gone with Dudley before an old woman ran around the corner, with tartan slippers flapping on the ground and panting out of breath.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please let me know what you thought! Cheers!

P.S I gave you guys a long chappie so please review to let me know what you thought of both Harry's experiences! Thank you!

P.P.S Just a note to say that the story will follow some events of the fifth book but they will not be exact. I'm not looking at the book to take the text. Any similar events will be told in my own perspective. As it's not cannon Harry going through this fifth year but my Harry, things are going to follow a _similar_ pattern but everything is going to be _different_! Cheers!!


	6. Strange Behaviour

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Hey, thanks so much for all the reviews. Here's the next chappie, Enjoy!

**Chapter Six**

**_AU World_**

Damien pocketed his phone after Harry hung up on him. He couldn't believe what was happening. His brother was stuck in another dimension and he was stuck with the other Harry. Thinking about him, Damien turned around to face him. He fought down the panic he was feeling so he could speak properly.

"Bad news, Harry thinks that the compass may be overworked. It needs to recuperate its magical energy before it'll work again. You won't be able to go back just yet. It will probably take about a week." Damien explained miserably.

Harry could feel a small eruption of happiness inside him. He wasn't going back yet. He did feel a little worried about not being able to get back to his own world but other than his friends, nothing positive was waiting there for him. Even then, his friends had hardly written to him all summer, even though they knew everything he went through with Voldemort. Harry felt a little resentment towards his friends which only added to his desire to stay in this alternate world for a while longer.

"Oh, well…there's not much we can do about that." He said, fighting to hide his happiness.

Damien nodded his head in response. His mind was engulfed with forthcoming problems. He knew this was a bad idea from the start and now that the two Harry's were stuck in the wrong dimensions, the likelihood of things going horribly wrong was very high.

Sighing in both frustration and annoyance, Damien raised his wand and conjured a wooden box. He carefully placed the golden compass into the box and fastened the lid on tightly. He opened the bottom drawer of Harry's desk and carefully put the wooden box inside, knowing full well that his parents would never look in Harry's room. They respected his privacy and would never look through his things, so the compass would be safe here.

He straightened up and turned to face the other Harry.

"Okay, the compass should be able to fix itself if it's not touched. After a week, we'll try again. I'll have to make up some excuse to come back here to meet you." Damien tried to make his mind come up with an excuse. "I'll think of something!" he grumbled. He thought about saying he'd forgotten something but then squashed that idea. His mum would probably eat him alive if he said that, after all the times she warned him to pack his things properly.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, looking quite confused.

"Next week, I'll come back here and meet with you so we can try the compass again." Damien repeated, wondering what was complicated about that.

Harry looked confused again.

"Meet me here? I'm not staying here by myself. I'm coming with you." Harry said.

Damien gaped at him.

"Excuse me? You can't come to Hogwarts!" Damien said annoyed

"Why not?" Harry asked, equally annoyed.

"Oh, lets see?!" Damien said sarcastically. "How about, if you come with us everyone will know you're not the real Harry!"

"I am Harry!" Harry pointed out.

"You know what I mean." Damien snapped. "You managed two days here but in Hogwarts, it'll be a different story. Firstly, mum and dad will get suspicious of why you changed your mind to come to Hogwarts with us. Secondly, most of the students will notice you're not your usual self, not to mention the staff, especially Professor Dumbledore! He'll know right away something is wrong and your cover will be blown!"

Harry waited until Damien had finished his rant.

"You're over reacting. Nothing like that will happen." Harry consoled. "I'll stay away from the students and staff. They won't have the time to focus on me anyways, they'll be busy with their own lives." Harry saw Damien open his mouth to argue and quickly cut him off. "Damien, look, I only came to this dimension so I could spend time with my parents. These last two days have been great but I've hardly had a chance to talk to them. This is another opportunity to get to know them and for me to spend more time with them. I'm not going to sit in Potter Manor by myself and waste a whole week when I could be spending that time with them in Hogwarts."

Damien felt torn. He understood Harry's feelings completely but the risk was far too great. Professor Dumbledore would realise that Harry was different and he would surely figure out what had happened. He tried not to imagine what his parents would do to him when they found out that he was part of the plan that resulted in Harry being stuck in another dimension. He gave an involuntary shudder; his dad was going kill him.

"I understand, Harry, I really do but I'm sorry. If you come with us it will only cause problems. Mum and dad will surely see that you're different if you spend a week with them. Professor Dumbledore knows Harry really well, he'll pick up that something is different with you and before long, the truth will be out in the open. I'm sorry, but you can't go. You have to stay here." Damien said this and turned to leave. He opened the door and disappeared into the dark hallway, not giving Harry a chance to argue.

xxx

Lily was at the foot of the stairs, yelling at James and Damien to hurry up. It was like this every time they had somewhere to go. She couldn't understand why the men couldn't be more prepared like her. She was ready and prepared first thing this morning for her journey to Hogwarts.

"James, Damien, hurry up we have to leave in three minutes!" she yelled.

"Coming, coming." James replied as he came down the stairs, his trunk floating behind him. "Lily, I can't find my shoes, the brown ones, any idea where they are?" James asked.

"Under the sofa." Lily replied distractedly, dragging her own luggage to the door.

"That's your answer to everything." James huffed as he walked towards the living room.

"That's because everything is usually stuffed under there!" Lily replied, narrowing her emerald eyes at him.

James threw her a cheeky look before disappearing into the living room.

"Damy! Come on, we're going to be late!" Lily yelled.

"I'm here, I'm here." Damien replied, dragging his trunk with him. "This thing weighs a ton!" he moaned.

Lily flicked her wand and took over the trunk, guiding it gently next to the rest of the luggage, next to the door.

"Thanks mum." Damien said, straightening up.

"Is Harry up yet?" Lily asked, her eldest son was missing from breakfast this morning. She knew he was annoyed that everyone was leaving and he was going to be on his own, but she didn't think he would not come downstairs to see them off because of it.

"Um, no, I think he's still in bed." Damien replied, not meeting his mum's eyes. He knew Harry was upset with him about last night but there really wasn't anything he could do.

"Oh, I'll just go and see him. I can't leave without saying a proper goodbye." Lily said as she turned towards the stairs.

"I found them!" James announced happily as he walked out of the room, his favourite shoes on his feet.

"And where did you find them?" Lily asked in amusement.

"Under…the…sofa." James replied in a quiet voice, faking embarrassment.

Lily laughed and turned towards the stairs intending to go upstairs, but she stopped short at the sight before her.

Harry was standing at the top of the stairs, his outdoor cloak draped around his shoulders, his trunk sitting at his feet. He looked at her with a warm smile.

"Harry? What's going on?" Lily asked, gesturing towards the trunk.

Harry glanced over at Damien and saw his shocked expression before he spoke.

"I'm coming with you." He replied calmly.

The three Potters looked at Harry with more than surprise. James was speechless as was Lily. They had never thought Harry would change his mind about going to Hogwarts. Damien, however, was not only shocked but beyond angry. What was Harry thinking?! He had just explained why he couldn't go to Hogwarts last night, but it seemed Harry was just going ignore him.

"I…I don't understand. You said you didn't want to take the job. What made you change your mind?" James asked, coming to stand at the foot of the stairs.

Harry was lost. Job? What job? What was his dad talking about? He glanced at Damien but knew the boy wasn't going to help him. He cleared his throat to speak.

At that moment, Damien was sure he was going to have a panic attack. If Harry said he was taking the job, he was signing his life away. His brother was going to kill this Harry for sure.

"I've not changed my mind about the job. I said I didn't want the job and I still don't." Harry said. He knew that if the other Harry said 'no' to a job then he should stick to that. "But I want to go with you and stay with you in Hogwarts. I don't want to stay here by myself."

Lily let out a gasp of emotion. Damien looked away from his teary eyed mum. 'Great, just great!' he groaned to himself.

Lily quickly pushed back her tears and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Harry that would be great! I didn't want you staying by yourself either. It's great that you want to come with us."

Damien didn't say a word as both his mum and dad helped Harry and his stuff downstairs. He didn't say a word until they were seated in the back of their dad's car. Damien saw both James and Lily altering the security wards on their Manor and took the opportunity to talk quickly to Harry.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Harry replied just as quietly.

"I know how you feel about me coming, but I'm not going to stay on my own for a week. I didn't cross _worlds_ just to sit by myself! I want to get to know my parents and I'm not wasting any time, not even a single moment!"

Damien glared at him but couldn't say anything to him as James and Lily had arrived and were seated at the front ready to go.

Damien looked out the window and pushed down his feeling of dread. Nothing good was going to come of this, he knew it. He wanted to phone Harry and tell him how stubborn the other Harry was being but he couldn't do anything until he got away from his parents.

He sat in silence, wondering just how bad things could get while his dad drove them to Kings Cross, where they all would board the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 ¾ .

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry let the curtains fall back into place as he stepped away from the window. He knew that the house was heavily warded, there was no way the Dementors would follow him. They were gone by now. Even still, Harry watched the darkened street, his eyes scanning the area searching for anything that was out of normal. But everything was quiet and still, just as it was before the attack.

Harry moved away from the window and looked at the shaken boy sitting on the bed. Harry had apparated Dudley straight to his room in Privet Drive. He was glad he could still manipulate the wards like he could back in his own world.

Harry hadn't said anything to the large boy who was sitting with his arms draped around his large torso, rocking back and forth. His eyes were wide open and glazed, his complexion almost grey in colour. He looked like he was fighting the urge to be sick. Harry was surprised he was sitting quietly on the bed. He had half imagined him to scream the place down and call for his parents the moment he returned, but Dudley was in too much of a shock to do anything but sit on his bed.

Harry looked around the room, it was stuffed full of things, muggle toys and games littered the shelves, posters decorated the walls, clothes were strewn across the back of his chair and on his desk were more sweets than Harry had seen in muggle shops. Harry walked over to the desk and picked up a large bar of chocolate. He walked over to Dudley who flinched horribly as Harry approached him. Without saying a word, Harry offered the bar to him. Dudley looked up at him and shook his large blond head at him.

"Take it; it will make you feel better." Harry said trying to keep his voice free from annoyance. He felt no compassion for Dudley, he was just a stupid muggle who followed in his parents footsteps blindly and didn't see any reason to think for himself. That disgusted Harry to no end. However, the boy had just been nearly kissed by a Dementor. Harry knew exactly how that felt and it was because of this only that he was helping his muggle cousin.

Dudley took the bar and fumbled with the wrapper before finally managing to remove it successfully. He engulfed the large bar in a matter of seconds. Harry watched with mild amusement as he sat on the chair near the desk. Dudley looked a bit better now. Some colour returned to his face and he managed to stop trembling. Harry picked up another bar and tossed it to Dudley who caught it but didn't open it up straight away. He just sat with the bar of chocolate in his chubby hands, his eyes fixed on Harry.

"W-what was t-that?" Dudley finally asked, his voice shaking badly.

"What you just experienced was a Dementor attack." Harry calmly answered. "They're awful creatures that guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. When they come near you, you're forced to relive your worst memories. If they kiss you, like you were nearly tonight, they suck your soul out."

Dudley let out a horrified squeak. The bar fell to the floor from his slack fingers. Dudley brought his hands up and began feeling his chest frantically, like you would if you were looking for something in your pocket. His fingers were prodding his own chest, like he was trying to feel if his soul was still inside him.

Harry would have laughed if he was not in a foul mood.

"You're fine! If you had your soul sucked out of you, you would've felt it! Trust me!" he snapped making Dudley stop and drop his hands away.

Harry couldn't help but feel irritate. He had just been attacked by Dementors. He looked away from Dudley and tried to get his tired mind to work. What the hell where those Dementors doing in Little Whinging?

A sound in the room distracted Harry and he looked up at Dudley. He had picked up the chocolate and was in the process of tearing open the wrapper. He looked up at Harry and a guilty look flitted past his face.

"This really does help." He said, echoing Harry's previous words.

"Chocolate is supposed to help heal you after a Dementor attack." Harry offered as an explanation.

"Oh, so do you get those, those, Dementia thingies attacking often?" Dudley asked.

Harry rolled his eyes at the muggle.

"**Dementors** and no we don't." Harry answered.

"So how do you know chocolate helps?" he asked after a moment or two.

"Personal experience." Harry answered.

Dudley looked away at that.

"Oh"

Harry didn't know if the Harry of this world had dealt with Dementors or not. But he did know that if he had, he wouldn't have discussed it with his muggle relatives as they showed such little interest in the magical world. So Harry knew his comment wouldn't be picked upon.

Seeing that his muggle cousin was looking a lot better now, Harry got up to leave. He needed to get his head around this attack that happened and try and figure out the reasoning behind it. Just as he approached the door, Dudley's voice stopped him.

"You've changed."

Harry looked behind him at the boy, still sitting with the half eaten bar in his hand.

"Well done, you've stated the obvious." Harry remarked.

"I don't mean the way you look." Dudley replied. "I mean, everything about you is different. The way you talk to us, the way you used your, your powers, everything about you is different. You don't even walk the way you used to! You're more confident that I've ever seen you!" Dudley exclaimed.

Harry held back the smirk, so someone had noticed the differences a potion couldn't possibly cause. He had to admit, he was making no effort in pretending to be like the other Harry, he couldn't bear the thought of even pretending to be that submissive.

"People change, Dudley." Harry said. "What you see in life changes you. The same happened to me."

Dudley looked thoughtful and Harry had to admit it looked like he was in pain.

"You…you mean about that boy who was killed in your school?" he asked finally.

Harry didn't know that Dudley knew about the seventh year killed by Voldemort. He could tell even by the brief meeting with this world's Harry that he was tortured by the memory of the death of Cedric Diggory, but he didn't think he would have told the Dursleys.

"Mum mentioned something about it." Dudley mumbled as he saw the look on Harry's face.

Harry didn't answer and Dudley quickly looked away.

"Have some more chocolate, it'll help." Harry instructed as he opened the bedroom door intending on leaving.

Dudley looked at the half eaten bar in his hand before looking back up. His expression suddenly changed and he blushed.

"Um, Harry, you, you can have some too, if you, you like." He said, gesturing to the pile of candy on his desk.

Harry glanced over at the desk before smirking.

"I'm fine." He remarked but he could tell that for Dudley to be offering sweets to his neglected cousin was a rare and once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Dudley hunched up his large shoulders and looked down.

"You helped me from that, that thing. I couldn't even see what it was. If I was in your place I would have…would have…"

"You would have left me and run, right?" Harry finished, amusement in his eyes at the sight of the guilt ridden Dudley.

Dudley nodded his head ashamedly.

"I don't know what to say." He admitted quietly.

"Don't say anything." Harry mused.

Dudley looked at his cousin and smiled, not a sneering smile but a genuine smile that even his parents never got anymore.

"Thank you, Harry."

Harry didn't say anything in return.

"I'm going to go now." Harry said, opening the door wider so he could leave. "I have to go and take a shower to get this moment off of me."

Dudley let out a surprised laugh and eyed his cousin with an emotion he had never before felt. It was oddly like a sense of friendship. He watched as Harry left and looked down at the half eaten bar of chocolate.

Maybe he had been wrong about his cousin. His parents had told him that Harry's 'freaky' gift could only cause havoc and trouble, and after he had gone through surgery to remove the pig tail and nearly passed out when his tongue swell up with fake candy, he agreed whole heartedly with them. but after what happened today, the invisible Dementory things that had made him feel cold and sad and after feeling the despair build inside him like acid, eating away his insides, he had no other option but to admit that without Harry's 'freaky' gift, he would have never gotten away from that despair. A shudder ran through him at the memory and he crammed the rest of the chocolate into his mouth.

He resolved to be nicer to Harry from now on. He saw a side to him that he never thought he would. His cousin, who he had beaten up on numerous occasions and who was ridiculed and made fun of, had risked his life to save him. If that didn't make him step back and reconsider his relationship with him, then nothing would.

xxx

Harry didn't sleep that night. He was lying awake in his bed trying figure out what was happening in this world. One thing he knew for sure was that Dementors do not act of their own accord. They didn't come to Little Whinging, they were _sent_ here. That much Harry knew pretty much right away. The thing that he was trying to work out was who sent them? The first and most obvious culprit was Voldemort. He was out for Harry's blood. As uncomfortable as that thought made Harry, it was the truth. But that was the problem, Voldemort wanted to kill Harry, not to have his soul sucked out. The other thing was that Dementors weren't under Voldemort's control. They were with the Ministry.

That little conclusion brought Harry to believe that someone from the Ministry was trying to get to Harry. It was the only plausible explanation. From the Daily Prophet and Hermione's letter, Harry had deduced what the wizarding world thought of Harry Potter. His insides boiled furiously as he remembered the snide jokes and blatantly cruel comments made about Harry, because he claimed Voldemort was back and they didn't believe him, disregarding him as a 'delusional and attention seeking brat'. He remembered the line in Hermione's letter,

'_Don't pay any attention to the Daily Prophet, Harry. They don't want to believe you're telling the truth. Just ignore them!' _

Harry dug out the letter again and read it. It was a simple letter asking after Harry's health and telling him that she and Ron were 'awfully busy' and had 'lots to do'. What it was that she and Ron were busy doing was not disclosed. Harry folded the letter back and placed it under his pillow. He had to leave that for the 'Harry' it was meant for.

Just as Harry was starting to doze off he heard a noise that made him sit up in his bed. The distinct sound of someone walking downstairs made Harry reach for his wand and get up. He knew that none of the Dursleys were downstairs as Dudley was sleeping in his room and Vernon and Petunia were sleeping in Harry's old room. Harry would have heard them coming out of their rooms and going down the stairs if it was them. Harry still didn't know how his aunt and uncle slept in Harry's old room, and he honestly wasn't that interested either. He figured that one took the bed and one slept on the floor.

Harry got up and quietly walked out of the large room. He had just got to the top of the stairs when he felt it. Magic. Someone was using magic. He could feel it, almost taste it in the air. Harry instantly went into his warrior mode and stealthily made his way down the stairs.

A part of him hoped it was Damien and the other Harry who had come. Maybe the compass had worked. But Harry knew that Damien would have phoned him beforehand. So it was definitely not them. He knew it wasn't going to be Aurors since they couldn't detect Harry's special wand. Even if he had performed magic, the Ministry would never know. That only left one other option; Death Eaters.

Harry arrived at the foot of the stairs and pressed his back against the wall, keeping himself hidden. The grip on his wand was tight and he was ready to take out whoever was threatening him. He heard another sound, someone stepping on something that creaked loudly and a voice telling someone to 'hush up!'

Harry readied himself as he heard soft footsteps approach him. From his peripheral vision he saw the edge of the kitchen door open and he knew someone was entering the hall. Harry didn't waste a moment. He threw himself in front of the stranger and fired his curse.

Harry's jet of blue light, meant to immobilise his target, flew straight to the unsuspecting wizard and hit him straight in the chest. Harry saw the person hit the ground with a thump.

It was just as half a dozen wands were aimed at him that Harry recognised the figure lying on the ground.

"Kingsley?" Harry muttered quietly as he saw the stunned form of the Auror lying at his feet.

Harry looked up and saw all the faces staring at him, filled with shock and alarm before recognition filled them.

"Harry? Is that you?" a familiar voice asked.

Harry cast 'Lumos' to better his vision and saw the person who had asked the question. Harry's response was lost somewhere in his throat. He took in the awful appearance of the man standing before him, his robes shabby and patched, his brown hair streaked with grey and his eyes looking tired and haunted.

"Remus?" Harry asked, not daring to believe that the wizard standing before him was the alternate form of his dad's best friend and his own growing friend.

Remus was looking at Harry with awe and surprise.

"What did you…what happened to you?" he asked as he lowered his wand.

Harry knew his appearance was causing the surprise. He quickly offered his explanation, not wanting anyone to doubt his identity.

"I made a mind strengthening potion. I messed it up and it altered my appearance." Harry supplied quickly.

Remus was still looking at him with surprise.

"I almost didn't recognise you." Remus laughed.

Harry was about to return the comment but stopped himself. He saw a few familiar faces behind Remus. He noticed Tonks straight away with her bubblegum pink hair. Moody was staring at him, his wand still pointing at him, his blue eye spinning madly in its socket. He saw a few other people he knew to belong to the Order, but had never bothered to talk to.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked as he lowered his wand, but didn't put it away.

"We came to see how you were after we found out about the Dementor attack." Remus said, as he released Kingsley from his stunned state.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Mrs Figg alerted us." Remus said as he helped Kingsley to his feet. The tall Auror stood up, rubbing at his neck.

"Oh" Harry had no idea who Mrs Figg was but he had to play along.

Harry knew that this world's Harry knew Remus as he had mentioned him when they were discussing all the people he and Damien knew. But what Harry didn't know was who else he knew. Harry had to play along as best as he could with hardly any information.

He noticed Kingsley stare at him and he quickly turned to him.

"Sorry, about that. You caught me off guard." He supplied as he shook his hand.

"No problem." Kingsley brushed the apology aside and stared at Harry closely. "You look remarkably like James. It's uncanny." He commented.

"Yes, but his eyes are like Lily's." a squeaky voiced wizard supplied.

Harry fought not to roll his eyes. 'State the obvious, why don't you' he told himself.

"Harry, are you okay?" Remus asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry answered.

"We were worried about you. Mrs Figg told us about sensing the Dementors and we thought the worst..." Remus stopped and looked at Harry, a strange look of confusion on his face. "How did you escape the Dementors without using your magic?" he asked.

Harry felt a moment of panic explode inside him. He knew that he couldn't say he did use his magic since the Ministry would have issued him a warning by now. How was he going to explain that he did magic but the Ministry couldn't pick up on it? Keeping his expression as relaxed as possible he answered,

"I ran."

Remus and the others blinked at him.

"Pardon?"

"I ran. Me and Dudley. I sensed the Dementors were coming as it got suddenly cold and I told Dudley to run and before the Dementors could catch up with us. We weren't that far from home and we managed to get back inside in time. I think the wards stopped the Dementors from following me inside." Harry answered in his most innocent of voices.

Remus was looking at Harry like he couldn't believe his ears.

"You ran?" he asked again, disbelief in his voice. "That….okay, I wasn't expecting that but, well it worked, I guess." He ended abruptly, not knowing what else to say to him.

Harry noticed, with a growing sense of dread, that Moody was eyeing him very suspiciously. He found that he was right in the next moment.

"I think we should test him." he said in his gruff voice.

"Test him?" Remus questioned.

"He doesn't look like Potter, he doesn't sound like Potter, don't you think there maybe a good chance he isn't Potter?" he asked in his annoying paranoid voice.

"Oh, Moody, for Goodness sake!" Tonks complained but was cut off as Moody rounded on her.

"There was a Dementor attack! There is a good chance the real Potter was taken and this is a decoy, to confuse us!" he hissed at her.

Harry had to keep a straight face at that.

Moody turned to scrutinise him.

"Has anyone brought Vertiserum with them?" he asked. At the negative response he shook his head. "No, I didn't think anyone would remember such vital things!"

"Excuse me, you didn't bring some either." Tonks replied hotly.

Moody didn't seem to hear her as he stomped his way over to Harry.

"Alright, tell us something only the real Harry would know." he demanded.

Harry had to stop himself from being rude. He couldn't blow his cover but the temptation was too much.

"Two plus two is four?" he supplied with a smile.

Moody looked furious with his behaviour. Harry caught the look of surprise on Remus' face but then his lips twitched into a smile. Tonks giggled but hushed up at the stern stare from Moody.

"This isn't fun and games, boy. Don't try to be funny with me." He warned.

Harry was finding it hard not to annoy the Auror but he resisted his temptations.

"What form does your Patronus take?" Remus suddenly asked.

Harry cursed. Why did Remus have to ask that? There was no way he could figure that out. He knew without a doubt that the Harry of this world wouldn't have the same Patronus as him. Seeing as his Patronus form would scare the crap out of most fully grown wizards, he didn't think fifteen year old Harry's Patronus was going to be Nagini.

Harry realised that everyone was waiting for his answer. Clearing his throat, Harry turned to face Moody.

"Before I answer that, how do I know that you are the real Moody? For all I know, all you guys could be Death Eaters in disguise."

Moody looked shocked for a moment before looking at Harry with a look in his eye that could be described as pride.

"The boy has a point." He said, turning to talk to the Order members behind him.

"Plus, my Patronus form could be revealed to anyone. That wouldn't tell you if I'm the real Harry or not. Anyone can learn these details." Harry continued.

Moody was looking impressed.

"So, what do you suggest?" Moody asked, evidently intrigued by Harry's vigilance.

Harry squared his shoulders and spoke clearly.

"Identity spell."

Moody looked at Harry with shock. He wasn't expecting that.

"Identity spell? That is an idea but we need blood for that to work." He said.

"Just a drop." Harry replied. Then remembering what the other Harry had told him about being forced into Voldemort's re-birthing ritual, he added, "I've had worse. Pettigrew forced blood from me to bring back Voldemort. I'm sure I can spare a drop to help you believe I'm really Harry Potter."

The atmosphere suddenly intensified. Harry saw the others take in a deep gasp. Harry wondered if it was the mention of Voldemort's name or the fact that Pettigrew had taken blood from Harry. He figured it was mostly the mention of Voldemort.

Moody suddenly backed off and looked uncertainly at Remus. The members of the Order looked at each other with solemn expressions. Harry realised that it was the knowledge that Harry was hurt in the re birthing ritual that was causing the others discomfort. The last thing they wanted was to make Harry bleed.

Moody faced Harry again and looked at him closely.

"Just a drop." He confirmed, the words sounded more like he was convincing Harry.

Harry led the others back into the kitchen and watched as Remus went first. Moody took a drop of blood from his finger and used the identifying spell on it. The name 'Remus John Lupin' appeared in the air in fiery red letters before fading away. Harry let Moody extract a drop of blood from his finger and watched with a satisfied smile as the words 'Harry James Potter' appeared in the air.

Everyone looked a lot more relaxed now. Harry knew that with the exception of Remus, the rest were apprehensive of Harry as his appearance had changed and apparently, so had his way of speaking, Harry couldn't be that shy and reserved if he tried. But now that he was identified as Harry Potter, they could trust him. Now that they checked that Harry Potter was still in Privet Drive and was safe they could leave.

Remus turned to face Harry now and smiled tiredly at him.

"Now that that's settled, can you go upstairs and get your stuff. We should get going."

Harry looked confusedly at him.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"You're not staying here. You were lucky you got away from the Dementors this time, next time you might not be so lucky. You're coming with us." Remus said with a smile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review, Cheers!!


	7. Meeting old friends for the first time

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Hey, thanks so much for all the reviews. Here's the next chappie, Enjoy!

**Chapter Seven**

**_AU World_**

The ride on Hogwarts Express was very different to the usual ride Harry experienced. For a start he wasn't sitting in a compartment with Ron and Hermione. Instead, he was seated with his mum and dad in the Professor's compartment. Harry watched the scenery whip past him from the window. He was lost in his thoughts. He knew Damien was angry with him. He refused to speak to him at all during the car ride to Kings Cross. As soon as they passed through the magical barrier and arrived onto Platform 9 ¾, Damien rushed to a compartment near the end of the train, without as much as a single word to Harry. James and Lily had looked at Harry with surprise and James had asked if he and Damien had a falling out. Harry shrugged his shoulders in response, not having it in him to come up with a false argument.

Harry let out a sigh as he thought about the younger boy, he understood his fears and knew he was risking his cover by going to Hogwarts but he couldn't sit back and stay by himself when he had the chance to stay with his parents. He looked up at Lily as she sat with James, both going through a list of what needed to be done once they got to Hogwarts. He smiled as he saw the way Lily's eyes lit up when she met his gaze. She looked away again as James asked for her attention.

Harry was happy to sit in silence and just watch his parents discreetly. The next time he looked out of the window he was surprised that the sun was already settling, the sky was growing darker with every minute. He felt someone sit down next to him and he pulled his gaze away from the window and looked up at James. His dad was sitting next to him and was looking at him carefully, a hint of concern in his large hazel eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head, not being able to speak. He had a burning desire to hug his dad and his mum also but the Harry of this world never hugged his parents and so Harry had to force himself to stay in his seat.

"Harry, I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you're coming with us." James started. Harry grinned mentally. At least someone was happy to have him at Hogwarts. "I know that the decision must have been difficult but I'm glad that you made it. I want you to know that I understand your decision about not taking up Dumbledore's offer."

Harry was lost again. What offer did Dumbledore make that Harry had refused? He idly wondered what kind of relationship Harry and Dumbledore had? From what he had deduced so far, it didn't seem as if they were very close.

Harry realised that James was waiting for a response of some kind. He cleared his throat and looked up at him.

"I didn't want to stay alone. I thought that even though I don't want to take up Dumbledore's offer, I could stay at Hogwarts with you and mum." Harry said the words carefully, making sure he didn't say anything that betrayed his confusion.

James nodded his head at Harry.

"I had told you that you were welcome to stay with us even if you didn't want the job. Dumbledore won't have any problems with you staying. Although, I think he'll try and offer you the job again. Just do me a favour and be nice, okay? Don't insult him, he's only offering you a job. Decline it if you must, but do it as politely as you can."

Harry blinked back up at James. His shock was such that he couldn't form any words to reply. The Harry of this world was rude to Dumbledore? The most powerful wizard who even intimidated Voldemort! That was something Harry was sure he would never hear. He shook his head, to clear it but James took that as a response to his plea.

"Harry, please. He's not your enemy. Just…just ignore him if you have to but don't talk back to him. I know how much that hurts him."

Harry forced his words out to show that he wasn't arguing with his dad.

"Okay, dad. I won't talk back to him."

James opened his mouth to speak but the words Harry had spoken penetrated his mind and he stopped in shock. He snapped shut his mouth and stared at Harry in surprise. He was ready to fight the case and wasn't expecting Harry to give in so soon. He shared a look with Lily before turning back to Harry.

"Okay then, that's…well…thank you, for that." He stuttered, not knowing how to show the gratitude that Harry listened to him.

Harry was taking his dad's reaction in with an ache in his heart. His dad seemed so happy that his son listened to him. He realised that the Harry of this world had a very awkward relationship with his dad. It was painfully obvious that he didn't listen to his dad. Harry couldn't help but think the old phrase he once heard, '_those who have it, don't appreciate it, those who don't, yearn for it._'

xxx

Harry walked onto the Platform at Hogsmeade and took in his surroundings. Things seemed like his own world for a moment. He could see the castle in the distance, twinkling in the darkness, inviting him back home. The rush of the students, all wearing their school robes, rushing to get out of the cold and into the castle as fast as possible. Harry saw the group of small, slightly scared looking students and he knew they were the first years. With a sudden pang he remembered Hagrid. He looked around the station, searching for his half giant friend, but he couldn't see him anywhere. With Hagrid's size, it was usually quite easy to make him out. He saw another Professor, grey haired and rather plump, guiding the students to the boats.

Without thinking he whispered to himself;

"Where's Hagrid?"

"What?"

Harry looked around to find James staring at Harry, his eyes slightly round and wide. He figured he wasn't as quiet as he thought he was.

"Nothing, I was just wondering where Hagrid was?" Harry said, not knowing what else he could say that would disguise his words. After all, nothing logical rhymed with 'Hagrid'.

He regretted it instantly as James' shocked look turned to one of anger.

"How do you know about Hagrid?" James asked, a harsh undertone to his voice.

Harry was starting to break out into a sweat. He didn't like the way James was looking at him, angry and annoyed. He figured out by now that the Harry of this world didn't know a Hagrid.

"I heard a few students mention him last year." Harry lied, panicking at his slip. "They were saying that a half giant by the name of Hagrid used to work for Hogwarts. I just wondered where he was."

He watched with a painfully thumping heart as James relaxed slightly. He was still looking at Harry with suspicion. He didn't say anything though and dropped the topic of conversation when Lily reached them.

Harry followed them through the crowd of people, too engrossed in his own mistake to notice the other students staring at him in surprise. He had his eyes fixed to the ground, just taking note of where his parents' feet were. It was only when he noticed his parents stop next to a carriage that he looked up. He almost wished he hadn't. His breath caught in his chest as he looked up at the carriage. The carriage itself was identical to the ones in his world. But the thing attached to the front of the carriage was something Harry had never seen before. A large horse like creature was strapped to the carriage, its large skeletal body was standing still, its face dragonish and foreboding, its white shinning eyes was making Harry's skin crawl. Harry noticed the large spidery wings at its side and felt his stomach clench with fear. What were those things? And why were such ferocious looking creatures in the midst of children?

"Harry?"

Harry snapped his head round to look at James and Lily, both looking at him with concern.

"Sorry? What?" Harry said, thinking maybe they were talking to him and he hadn't responded.

"Are you okay?" James asked with a worried expression. "You've been acting funny the whole way here."

Harry ducked his head in embarrassment. If he couldn't last the trip up to Hogwarts how was he going to last a week with them in the castle?

"I'm fine." He lied and he knew he was far from convincing.

James held open the door and told Lily and him to get inside. Lily climbed in at once glad to get out of the cold. Harry approached the carriage warily and couldn't stop looking at the strange horse dragon creature. James looked behind him and looked back at Harry.

"What is it now, Harry? What are you looking at?" James asked, growing tired with his son's strange behaviour.

"Nothing, it's just," Harry gulped as the horse gave a grunt before swishing its tail. "What, what is that, that thing?" Harry had to ask, the creature was freaking him out.

James looked behind him straight at the horse and then looked back at Harry.

"What thing? What are you referring to?" he asked.

Harry looked pointedly at the horse.

"The creature pulling the carriages. What is it?" Harry asked.

James's hazel eyes widened with surprise. He looked back at the carriage and then at Harry. A look of suspicion filled his hazel orbs, making Harry gulp again nervously.

"You don't know what these creatures are?" James asked, pointing straight at the horse.

Harry shook his head.

James was visibly stunned. He took a few minutes to speak.

"They're called Thestrals. They pull the carriages up to Hogwarts, they always have. They're harmless." James added, at seeing the look on Harry's face.

Harry had to admit he was relieved to finally learn what the creature was. He looked at James with a much relaxed expression.

"Oh, okay." He said quietly.

"Did you not notice them last year?" James asked, eyeing Harry closely.

"I don't think so." Harry replied.

"I would have thought you above everyone else would have seen them." James said quietly.

Harry didn't know what to make of that. He kept quiet and didn't respond. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not but James had sounded almost aggrieved at that last comment.

xxx

James followed Harry into the carriage and sat down, staring at him the whole way up to Hogwarts castle. They sat in silence, Lily looking between the two with a questioning look. Harry didn't make any eye contact and sat in silence. He was starting to see what Damien was talking about. He was going to blow his cover before he even got to the castle!

Luckily for Harry he got to the castle without anymore slip ups

Harry walked into the huge castle and couldn't help the smile that graced his face. He loved Hogwarts. He was relieved to find the castle just as it was in his own world. The same portraits, the same magical stairs that moved on their own accord, the same furnishings, it was if Harry had stepped back into his world. As he walked past the hallway and headed to the Great Hall, he noted that the main hallway looked slightly different.

Harry walked into the Great Hall and had to fight the smile threatening to break over his face. He loved the familiarity of his beloved school; he took in the floating candles, the four house tables stretched across the length of the hall and the long table on the stage, intended for the staff. He glanced up at the roof and saw the enchanted ceiling showing the cloudy sky and the drizzle of light rain.

He followed his parents up to the staff table. Harry suddenly realised that all the whole of Hogwarts was going to be able to see him sitting at the staff table. The realisation made him feel very apprehensive. He hated people looking at him as it was, and with him sitting at the staff table, in plain view to everyone, he was going to attract everyone's attention. It wasn't as if he could stop now though, so he trudged his way over to the staff table and sat on the seat near the edge. He noted a few members of staff already sitting at the table, he saw the Quidditch teacher, Professor Hooch, Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout and a few others he couldn't recognise. Slowly the hall started filling with people; firstly it was mostly the staff and then came the students. Harry couldn't help but look at the masses of students come pouring into the hall, all clad in their robes. He noted the looks he got and had to wonder what his counterpart was like to warrant such reactions.

Many of the students stopped in their tracks at the sight of him, mouths open in surprise, others audibly gasped and gestured towards him and started whispering with one another, no doubt about him. The sight made Harry squirm uncomfortably. He looked to his mum who was sitting next to him and she put a comforting hand on his own.

Harry drew strength from the comforting action and got through the stares and whispers. He had done it before. But there was something painfully different about the stares and whispers he was getting here compared to the ones he got back home. He wasn't sure if he was misreading it or not but it seemed as if the students here were eyeing him like they were afraid of him. Harry had to admit the other Harry did seem a little foreboding even to him. He was quiet and the way he looked at you gave you the impression he was calculating which curse to hit you with. It wasn't the best of feelings. But that same boy had given Harry a chance to see and meet his parents. Harry couldn't think badly of him. There was also the fact that the boy was his alternate self. How could he be afraid of himself?

Harry came out of his musings when he heard a door behind him close. He looked around in his chair and saw the Headmaster walking gracefully towards the middle of the table, heading for his chair. Harry took the moment to observe the Dumbledore of this world. He was the same; tall, graceful, the essence of magic coming from him in strong waves, the same crooked nose with the half moon glasses resting on it, silvery hair and beard, everything about him was the same. The only thing that was different was his eyes. They seemed more haunted and tired. His true age reflected in them more than they did in Harry's own world. Harry wondered the reasoning behind that. Sure this world was three years ahead in the timeline but three years wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Harry watched as the Headmaster greeted the school in his usual way. Making up weird words and making the students laugh. The sorting was, as always fun to watch and Harry finally caught a glimpse of Damien as he sat at the Gryffindor table, Ginny sitting next to him. He suddenly realised that Ginny was going to be here as well. He groaned mentally, he was definitely going to blow his cover with her, there was no doubt about that.

xxx

As soon as the feast was over, James and Lily led Harry over to Dumbledore. Harry was starting to get nervous. Apparently the Harry of this world was rude to Dumbledore. He could never dream of being rude to Dumbledore but he couldn't be his normal self either. James was already growing suspicious of him and his 'strange' behaviour. As steadily as he could, Harry approached the Headmaster's chair, his mum and dad in front of him.

Dumbledore stood up at once and met James and Lily warmly. His blue eyes met Harry's and the fifteen year old couldn't help but flinch. It wasn't that the look was cold or anything of that sort. Dumbledore had looked at him just as warmly as he had with the senior Potters. It was more to do with the realisation that he couldn't lie to Dumbledore. The wise and powerful wizard was going to see that the Harry before him was not the Harry of this world. How could he not? He was very talented and couldn't be fooled. What was he thinking coming here?

Harry quickly diverted his gaze and looked at the ground before him. Then realised that that action was very unlike the Harry he had met and quickly looked over to his left, scanning the hall in the pretence that he was bored. His eyes unexpectedly met Damien's and he saw that the boy was deliberately hanging back so he could watch the interaction between Harry and Dumbledore.

Harry heard the words his dad was saying and tried to get his thumping heart to slow down so he could understand what was being said.

"…if it would be okay, Harry is going to stay here with us?"

Harry sneaked a look at Dumbledore and was relieved to see he was smiling.

"Of course, that's not a problem. I will have the house elves prepare his room." he turned to look at Harry and again, Harry had to fight the urge to lower his gaze.

"Welcome to Hogwarts again, Harry." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry to literally bite his tongue to stop the 'thank you' from coming out. Instead he nodded his head tightly and looked away. He felt awful for acting distant with his Headmaster but he had to act this way. He couldn't let the others find out the truth. They would act differently with him, not to mention the trouble the other Harry and Damien would be in. He looked over to find Damien hovering near the door, his classmates urging him to hurry up.

xxx

Harry took in his quarter with interest. It was adjacent to his dad's quarter and was near enough identical to his. There was a spacious living room with similar furnishings as his dad's. A door led to the bedroom with a four poster bed and a small dresser. Another door led to the bathroom suite. Harry was very impressed. He had spent a few minutes just taking everything in. He had peeked into his dad's quarter first before being led to his own.

The first thing Harry did when left alone for the night was to take a long hot shower. He ached with tension and was more than happy to stand under the hot shower for almost twenty minutes. He had nearly messed everything up today. James kept shooting him weird looks, like he thought his son was losing his mind. Harry cringed as he brought back the day's memories. He had to be more careful. He didn't want to blow his cover.

Harry walked out of the shower at long last and took his time dressing into pyjamas. Absent-mindedly he walked to the sink and started his night time routine. He glanced into the mirror and had to take a moment to recognise the face staring back. He still hadn't gotten used to his new appearance. This was the end to his third day in this new world and with all the things happening he had not had the chance to really take in his new appearance. He still kept reaching for his glasses, which no longer sat on his nose. He noticed at once how big and vibrant his eyes seemed without his glasses hiding them. His features were the same, the same eyes, nose, mouth, everything was the same but somehow looked different. His hair was longer and if possible, messier. But Harry found that his hair only added to his new look. He had to admit that he looked good. He glanced down at his chest and quickly stripped out of his top. He examined the well built and toned torso, his muscled arms and strong hands. Harry had worked hard on building his body, that much was obvious. Harry found himself wondering what kind of training facility it was that Harry attended which not only enhanced ones magical capacity but emphasised on the physical attributes as well.

Harry brushed back his bangs away from his eyes, intending to have a closer look at his face, and that was when he noticed it. On his forehead, a faint scar in the shape of a lightening bolt. Harry froze, staring at the familiar scar, hand still holding back the bangs that had been obscuring the scar until now. Bringing up his other hand a finger reached out and traced the scar, as if to be sure it really was there. 'How could I not have noticed this up until now?' he thought to himself. The last few days, he had just rushed through his showers and routines, not paying himself much notice. It was only now when he had took the time to study his appearance that he noticed the scar.

"Why would Harry have the scar? He was never hit with Voldemort's killing curse." He questioned himself.

Then a sudden frightening thought came to him. What if this was his scar that was somehow coming through the glamour spell? Harry peered at the scar again. It looked faint but was still visible. His scar was usually a lot fiercer that this but maybe it looked faint because it was fighting through a glamour spell. Harry quickly covered the scar with his hair, brushing his hair down over his forehead in a bid to hide it. He looked in the mirror and was glad to see that his bangs completely hid the scar.

He finished up in the bathroom and quickly crept to his bed. He lay down and tried to relax. He had to be very careful, if anyone noticed the scar his game would be over. He was certain that the scar on his head was his own, coming through the glamour.

'After all, why would the Harry of this world have a scar when he has never faced Voldemort?' Harry questioned himself just before he fell into an exhausted sleep.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry stared at Remus and tried to digest the words spoken. He was to come with them. They were here to transport him to another place. But Harry knew he couldn't leave. He had to stay here so when Damien and the other Harry showed up in hopefully a week's time, he could go back to his own world.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

Remus looked at Moody and whispered.

"I can't say. You'll see soon enough." He responded.

Harry knew better that to insist on staying at Privet Drive. It was obvious that the other Harry hated staying with his horrid relatives and would most likely jump at the chance of leaving. The thing was, how could Harry stay without arousing suspicion.

"Harry? What's wrong? I thought you would be happy to leave." Remus questioned.

Harry looked up at him and found himself stuck. He had to go, it was too suspicious not to. And it wasn't any problem for him to apparate back here. He could tell Damien to tell him beforehand when they were intending to come back. Harry could easily apparate back to Privet Drive in time.

"Yeah, I'll just pack. Give me a few minutes." Harry said as he left the kitchen and headed upstairs.

He wondered where they were going to take him. He figured it was probably Remus' house. He was his dad's best friend; he would probably take Harry in for the rest of summer.

Harry wondered what to pack. All of Harry's clothes were in his old room and in a horrendous condition. Harry had transfigured some of the tattered clothes into his own clothes and that was how he had managed these past few days. Harry grabbed those clothes and threw them into the trunk he had moved from Harry's old room. He ignored the school supplies, Harry could do his own packing when he came back.

Within a few minutes he was back downstairs his trunk at his feet and Hedwig sleeping in her cage.

"Ready?" Remus asked.

"Ready" Harry confirmed.

"Where's your broom, boy?" Moody asked as he eyed him.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the Auror.

"The name is Harry, not boy." He answered with a hint of anger. "And my broom is in the cupboard." He lied, he had no idea where the other Harry's broom was.

"Well, _Harry_, go and get it. You'll need it." Moody answered.

Harry walked past him and wanted to silently hex him for his cheek. He refrained himself and headed to the hallway. He opened the cupboard and stepped inside. He grimaced at the tight space but focused on the situation. He whispered 'accio Harry's broom' and then stepped out of the cupboard. He heard the broom come zooming down the stairs and he caught it with one hand, just seconds before Tonks walked into the hallway, followed by the rest. They spotted Harry standing with the Firebolt in his hands, and the open cupboard door behind him.

"You got it? Good, let's go now." Tonks said as she headed towards the door.

Just as Harry approached the door, his trunk carried out by Kingsley, he heard a faint scuffle and a creak. He looked behind him and saw two figures, one large and round and the other tall and skinny, peeking from the top of the stairs.

Harry's lips curled into a smirk and turned around on the spot to look up at his uncle and aunt. They had probably woken up when his broom came flying out of their room and down towards Harry.

"Are…are you going, Harry?" Vernon asked, the name of his nephew rolling awkwardly from his tongue.

Harry's smirk deepened at that.

"Yeah, I'm leaving early." He replied.

He saw the relief on his relatives' face as they looked at each other. Harry walked a few steps near the front door but before he walked out he turned to face his relatives.

"Don't worry, though. I'll be back for the summer."

The smiles slipped of both adults faces and they looked at him with terror. Harry laughed before walking out. The group were waiting for him, none of them heard the parting conversation. Moody started instructing them on how they were going to make this trip. Harry hardly listened. He looked back up at the house and his eyes flickered to the window. He saw a figure standing at the window, staring down at them. Harry recognised his at once, it was Dudley.

Just as Harry mounted his broom he looked up at Dudley and saw a faint wave of his hand. Harry smiled at the sight. He raised his hand and gestured goodbye to the muggle boy before he kicked off from the ground. He knew Dudley had looked surprised at the sight of Harry flying on his broomstick but along with the shock there was a hint of awe as well.

Harry lined his broom next to Tonks and gave Dudley and the house a final look before racing towards his next destination, which was what he still didn't know.

xxx

The flight was long, cold and boring. Harry had to keep his speed down as he was supposed to be following he others. Moody was annoying as hell, as he kept taking them around long winded paths and insisted they do this to 'throw of any followers'. Harry cursed as his hands began to feel numb with the cold.

Finally Harry was given the gesture to land. He pulled up to the ground and jumped off the broom gracefully. He waited as the others landed and reached him.

"That was some flying. I heard you were good but you were amazing!" Tonks said, winking at Harry.

Harry smiled.

"Thanks, Tonks." he said with a grin.

Tonks looked surprised but her grin widened.

"You pick up things fast, don't you?" she commented. "My name is Nymphadora Tonks, but I hate me first name. I don't know what my mother was thinking. I get everyone to call me Tonks." She introduced.

Harry was about to respond when Moody intervened.

"Introductions can wait until we are inside safely!" he snapped at Tonks.

The pink hair turned red as she glared at the Auror but she obediently kept her mouth shut.

Harry was taking in the darkened street they were on. He had never been here before. It looked like a muggle street. Moody thrust a piece of folded parchment into his hand and told him to read it. Harry opened the paper and stopped short. The slanted writing on the parchment read an address Harry hated with vigour. He looked up at Moody with shock.

'Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.' He repeated mentally to himself.

Before his eyes, a house squeezed between two other houses and Harry was left gaping at the sight. He was going into the Order of the Phoenix, and once again, he was going there against his will.

xxx

As Harry grudgingly walked inside the darkened house, he had to stifle the noise of surprise. They house was the same as in his world but it looked very, very different. Firstly there was the smell. The musty, rotting smell gave away the fact that the house had been vacant for quite some time. The narrow corridor was lit by a few torches and the flickering light threw the house into more shadows than light. Harry walked inside and felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hated this place but it belonged to his Godfather, to Sirius. Seeing it in the state it was in now only reinforced the fact that Sirius had suffered in this world. The deteriorating state of the house signified the withered life Sirius was forced to live after the deaths of his best friends.

Harry saw a door open and a red haired woman came out, looking tired and rather frazzled. It took Harry a moment to recognise her. The red haired woman spotted Harry and the others and for the first few minutes she simply looked past Harry, not recognising him. Then she did a double take and stared at Harry.

"Oh my Goodness! Is that you, Harry dear? I didn't recognise you." She exclaimed, her tired face breaking out into a motherly smile.

Harry had no idea why Mrs Weasley was talking to him in such a fashion. He remembered the other Harry saying he was best friends with Ron Weasley but he didn't think that meant he was close to all of his family as well.

Harry stood where he was as Molly Weasley rushed over to him and before Harry even had the chance to greet her, she engulfed him into a motherly hug. Harry's fists clenched hard at his sides to stop himself from throwing the woman aside. He hated hugs, he barely endured the hugs his mum gave him. Gritting his teeth he managed to make it through and as soon as Molly had released him he took a step backwards, out of her reach.

Molly gushed at him, smiling with teary eyes.

"You look wonderful." She said.

"He had a little accident with a mind strengthening potion. It affected him physically." Remus supplied as he headed past Molly to the room she had walked out of.

"Oh, well, at least it worked out for you. But really, Harry dear, you shouldn't be messing about with potions. What if something bad happened to you?" she exclaimed.

Harry knew he had to get away from her. She meant well, but boy was she getting on his last nerve!

"Are you hungry dear? I'm afraid dinner is going to be awhile. Why don't I show you your room?" Molly said and started leading him towards the stairs.

Harry followed her and looked around at the walls decorated with severed house elves heads. 'Nice' he thought sarcastically to himself, disgusted with the sight.

Mrs Weasley led him to a door and stopped in front of it.

"Here you go, dear. We'll bring your stuff up later. Try and rest for a bit. Once the meeting is finished I'll call you down for dinner." She reached out and gently patted Harry's cheek.

Harry watched her as she hurried back downstairs. He let out a frustrated sigh. He hated people touching him, especially motherly gestures, they bothered him immensely. With a sigh Harry opened the door and walked into a large room. The first thing he noticed was the twittering bird, flying around the room in circles. There were two beds in the room. One was empty but on the other one sat a red haired Ron and the ever bushy haired Hermione.

Harry felt the annoyance at Mrs Weasley fade away as he took in the alternate forms of his friends sitting on the bed, apparently in the middle of a talk. Both looked up at Harry as he entered and at first there was the usual confused stare before recognition hit.

Hermione gasped and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Bloody hell!" Ron gasped, wide eyed and open mouthed.

Harry smiled and closed the door.

xxx

Harry stood next to the door and watched as Ron and Hermione rose to their feet.

"Oh my…Harry? What happened? You look so…so…" Hermione was speechless as she took in her friend's new look.

Ron was still open mouthed and was not taking his eyes off of Harry.

"I sort of had an accident." Harry explained his smile in place.

"That's not how I would define it." Ron commented.

"I was trying to make a mind strengthening solution but it didn't work. I had to substitute some ingredients and I guess it caused it to back fire on me. I ended up looking like this." Harry said.

It was strange for Harry to see a younger Ron and Hermione. They were the same age as the Harry of this world, so that meant they were fifteen. The Ron and Hermione Harry had left behind in his world were eighteen. It was only three years, but it made quite a difference. Hermione seemed to pick up the same thought and stared at Harry closely.

"You look older." She commented.

"Is that all you've noticed?" Ron asked.

She ignored Ron and set all her attention on Harry.

"What ingredients did you substitute?" she asked, intrigued.

"Quite a lot of them." Harry answered cryptically.

"But still, what did you do that caused such a…a reaction?" Hermione was obviously itching to research the potential side effects of substituting ingredients in potions.

"Hermione, give it a rest, will you." Ron groaned and turned to Harry.

"Any possibility you have some of that potion left?" he asked with a hopeful look.

Harry grinned back.

"Sorry, all gone." He answered.

"Drat!" Ron cursed.

"What made you decide to brew the potion? I mean it was rather dangerous drinking a potion with the wrong ingredients. And didn't your aunt and uncle get upset with you?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Actually they did kick up a fuss, but I dealt with it." Harry dismissed easily. "As for the potion, I wanted to see if it had worked. I figured, with Voldemort back, I needed to gather all the strength I could."

As Harry suspected, both Ron and Hermione stilled as he spoke Voldemort's name. Ron let out a scared noise which he disguised as a cough and Hermione had flinched but otherwise didn't do anything. They stared at Harry with an expression that was a mix of sympathy, understanding and strange as it was, fear.

"So, what have you two been up to?" Harry asked to change the topic.

Hermione cleared her throat.

"Cleaning, mostly. This place has been empty for so long it was growing things! Seriously! We've done most of the lower level but there is still so much to do." She fussed.

"So that's what you meant when you said you were busy." Harry said, referring to Hermione's letter.

"Yeah, it's been a nightmare trying to get rid of some of the stuff…"

And off Hermione went with explaining what they had discovered and what they had fought against. Harry listened with pretend interest, saying 'yeah' and 'oh?' and 'wow' at regular intervals.

Hermione only stopped talking when two loud pops were heard and Harry saw the Weasley twins appear.

"Blimey! Just 'cause you two can apparate now, doesn't mean you have to do it every minute of every day!" Ron groaned.

Fred and George ignored him and turned to stare at Harry.

"Gosh, Harry, you've grown a lot in the last month" Fred said staring at him.

"And grew out of your glasses" George added.

"And filled out"

"And grew your hair"

"And aged a few years"

The twins looked at each other before talking in unison.

"What did you do?"

They all laughed at the twins antics before Ron explained how Harry messed up his potion.

"Well, there's a mistake I wouldn't mind making." Fred laughed, elbowing George.

Harry didn't say anything but laughed along with Ron. Hermione was not amused at all.

"Really, you shouldn't encourage him." she huffed at he older boys. "He substituted the ingredients, something really bad could have happened."

"But it didn't!" Ron fought back.

Harry was distracted when the door opened and a red haired girl walked in, holding a ginger cat in her arms.

"Hermione, Crookshanks is wanting…" she trailed off as her brown eyes met Harry's.

Harry was expecting to see the younger Ginny any time now but still gaped at the sight. She was only fourteen in this world but she was identical to the girlfriend he had left behind in his world. Nothing about her seemed different, except being younger. She was staring at him, open mouthed and speechless.

It was only when the room quietened down that Ginny snapped out of her stupor.

"Harry! I…what did…you look…wow." She stuttered, her eyes taking in every detail of his.

Harry couldn't fight the grin away and responded with;

"Potion mistake, long story, don't ask."

Ginny smiled at Harry, making the boy's heart skip a beat. It was at this point he realised how much he missed his girlfriend. He would have to wait a week to see her. The knowledge made the week seem longer than before.

The teens sat in the room, talking mostly about the changes in Harry's appearance. But Harry smoothly moved the topic of discussion to the Order. He had to be careful as he didn't know if the Harry of this world knew of the Order or not.

"So this meeting happening downstairs, when is it finishing?" Harry asked.

"Merlin, knows, they've been talking for ages!" Ron moaned.

"It's the Order of the Phoenix meeting, Ron. It can take a few hours." Fred admonished.

Hermione quickly jumped in at this point to explain to Harry.

"The Order of the Phoenix is a group founded by Dumbledore. It's to fight against You-Know-Who."

The group hushed up around Harry and the carefree atmosphere seemingly vanished.

"Who's in the Order?" Harry asked, wanting to know if the same people were in it as in his world.

"Professor Dumbledore, naturally, Professor McGonagall, mum and dad, Bill, Charlie, Remus, Moody, Sirius, Tonks and a few others." Ron counted off his fingers.

"Oh and Snape." Ginny supplied.

Harry's head snapped in her direction.

"Snape?" he asked.

"Yeah I don't know why. The slimy git is not to be trusted but you know Professor Dumbledore, gives everyone a second chance." Ron said with a sour look.

Harry didn't know why he had not considered the possibility of Snape being alive in this world. He guessed he didn't really care either way but it was strangely comforting to know the man hadn't been brutally murdered in this world.

He sat back and listened to the others chat and let his mind wander to what else was different in this world.

xxx

It was at least an hour before Mrs Weasley came up to get them. Harry walked down the stairs alongside Ron. He noted that everyone grew quiet as they entered the hall. Harry wondered why.

He found out in the next moment.

Tonks had come out of one of the rooms and her gaze was set on the approaching teens. She waved at them and the next moment, her foot caught an ugly umbrella stand, in the shape of a troll leg, and she fell to the ground rather spectacularly. The troll leg stand fell on top of her.

At once a fierce shrieking filled the hallway;

"FILTHY MUDBLOODS! DISGUSTING CREATURES TAINTING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS! OUT WITH YOU! OUT!"

Harry scanned the dark hall for the source and found it in the form of a portrait. A life size portrait of an old woman who was drooling, her eyes rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut over her face. She was screaming like she was being tortured and was the one screaming abuse.

A door was flung open and Harry watched a dark haired man come barging out. He yelled at the portrait before yanking the velvet, moth eaten curtains over the portrait, in effect silencing her.

He turned around and brushed his long hair out of his face so Harry could see him clearly. The dark haired man and Harry stared at each other in complete surprise.

"Harry!"

"Sirius?" Harry asked as he took in the sight.

Sirius was smiling at Harry. He was obviously surprised, like the rest, with his physical differences but Harry was too distracted to note what he was saying. He felt like an invisible hand had reached into his chest and was squeezing his heart. The man before him was a dreadful version of his Godfather. He was thin, sickly thin and his hair was damaged and straggly long, his face was gaunt and hollow and his eyes, his eyes were haunted beyond anything Harry had seen. They held such pain that it hurt to just look at them.

Harry couldn't believe that the handsome, charismatic man he had grown to love was the alternate form of the man standing before him. Harry had inkling that it wasn't just Azkaban that took away his beauty. It was the loss of loved ones he had endured as well.

"Harry?"

Harry snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Sirius call to him.

"Yeah"

"I was saying what happened to you? How did you manage to give yourself a transformation?"

Harry repeated his lie again and this time he felt his words falter. He couldn't believe the effect Sirius was having on him. The unseen pressure on his heart hadn't lifted yet and it seemed to get worse the longer Harry looked at him.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. After I heard about the Dementor attack I was worried sick." He said, his eyes showing his concern.

Hermione gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. Bringing her hands down she stared at Harry.

"Oh God, Harry! I'm so sorry. We didn't even ask you about it. What happened? How did you get away? Why were…?"

"I think we can discuss it while eating. I'm famished." Remus cut across and led them into the dining room where everyone started helping Mrs Weasley with dinner.

Harry sat across from Sirius and just watched him as he spoke about the place being his home and the woman yelling abuse at everyone was his dear old mother. Harry kept quiet and listened with the ache still in his heart.

It was just as Ginny laid a plate setting before him that Harry gave a little jump. The vibrations of his phone caused the reaction from him. Ginny looked at him strangely but Harry ignored her. He excused himself from Sirius, saying he needed the wash up before dinner. He quickly got up and disappeared into the nearest bathroom.

Once inside he answered his phone, after applying his privacy spell on the door.

"Hello, Damien." Harry answered.

"Harry, you're not going believe this!" came Damien's annoyed voice.

"What happened? Are you in Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, and guess who came with us?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What do you think? Please review, cheers!!

Please go to my homepage for an Authors Note! Thanks!!


	8. Mistakes

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all so much for all the fab reviews. Here's the next chappie, Enjoy!

**Chapter Eight**

**_AU World_**

"What do you mean, he refused to stay back?!"

Damien grimaced at the sound of anger in his brother's voice. He was currently sitting in the Room of Requirement as it was the only place he trusted not to be discovered while speaking to his brother, who was in another dimension.

"He just ignored what I said to him and packed his things, well your things actually, and came with us." Damien replied.

"I don't believe this! Why did you let him come, do you realise what can go wrong?" Harry asked angrily.

"Yeah, everything!" Damien supplied. "I tried Harry, but he's stubborn, well I guess that should have been obvious, it is you." Damien added resignedly.

"Where is he?" Harry asked, his voice dangerously low.

"In his own quarter. It's next to dad's." Damien explained.

"I want to talk to him." Harry said.

"I'll try and get him to phone you tomorrow. I can't risk going there tonight. Mum and dad might be with him." Damien explained.

There was no response on the other end. Damien knew his brother was upset and angry. It was understandable.

"Fine" Harry bit out. After a moments pause, Harry spoke, his voice low and threatening. "Has anyone spoken to him about the job offer?"

"Yeah, dad mentioned it but its okay, Harry still refused it. At least he's got some sense." Damien said, feeling his annoyance at the other Harry still bubble furiously inside him. "Harry, I'm sorry. I tried but he wouldn't listen…"

"Stop it, Damien! It's not your fault." Harry said rather harshly.

Damien quietened down at that.

"I have to talk to him. I need to _explain_ a few things." Harry said and Damien suddenly was very glad Harry was not upset with him.

The two brothers talked for a few minutes longer before Harry hung up. Damien tucked the phone into his robes carefully and sat back.

The other Harry was going to get it now. Even though his brother was worlds away, he could be very scary, even when just talking. Damien got up and threw the invisibility cloak around him and sneaked out of the room, heading back to his dorm to get some much needed rest and sleep.

xxx

Harry hurried along the corridor, trying to get to the Great Hall in time. It was bad enough that he had to sit at the staff table, in plain sight of everyone, how much more awkward would it be if he arrived last and had to walk up to the table through a filled hall?

Harry opened the door and peeked inside. It was already bustling with people. With a groan, Harry hurried inside and tried to ignore the way the students stopped their breakfast to gawk at him. If he met anyone's gaze they quickly looked away, some flinched as if his gaze burned them.

Harry wondered why they were acting like that as he hurried to his seat. His mum and dad were already there, half way through their breakfast. With a small smile, Harry sat next to his mum.

"Morning" she said as he sat down.

"Morning mum." Harry replied.

"Did you sleep in? It's not like you to sleep through breakfast." Lily remarked as she observed him.

"I just, I was tired last night. I must have fallen into a deep sleep." Harry muttered.

Suddenly Lily's expression changed and to Harry's horror, her eyes filled with tears. Harry was lost as to what had happened to make her upset. What had he said that made her react in this way? All he said was that he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Lily squeezed Harry's hand and made an odd choking noise. She cleared her throat and finally got a hold of herself, much to Harry's relief.

"That's good to hear." She said with a teary smile.

Harry smiled awkwardly at her and looked at his plate instead. 'What was that all about?' he wondered as he served himself some breakfast.

xxx

After breakfast, Harry found everyone busy themselves in the day's schedule. The students left to attend the first class of the new semester, the Professors left to teach the classes and Harry found himself, utterly alone.

James told him he would meet him at lunch time and hurried of to his classroom. Lily said the same thing before heading to the dungeons for her Potions class. Harry walked back to his quarter, thinking about what he could do to keep himself busy. Just as he arrived he saw a lone figure waiting for him outside his door. He hurried towards Damien quickly.

Before Harry could say a single word Damien spoke.

"I can't talk for long; I have to get to Transfiguration. I only came to tell you that you need to make a call later on today."

Harry understood what Damien meant. Harry wanted to speak to him. He knew that Damien would tell Harry how he didn't listen and came to Hogwarts. He was expecting something like this.

"Okay" he replied calmly.

Damien eyed him but didn't say anything.

"Right, I'll come by after dinner." He said shortly and started walking away.

"Damien, wait!" Harry called out as the boy walked past him.

"I can't be late." Damien answered, not stopping.

"I'm sorry."

Damien stopped and turned around.

"What?"

Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry. I know that you're really mad at me for not listening to you. I'm sorry about that." Harry said.

Damien looked uneasily at him before looking behind him.

"Look, I really can't talk just now. We'll talk at lunch, okay?" Damien said, while making his way up the corridor.

Harry smiled, that sounded promising.

"Okay, lunch time."

Damien disappeared around the corner. Harry felt better. He didn't like not being on talking terms with Damien. The boy had looked out for him and it didn't feel right that he was angry with him. Harry went into his room, looking forward to lunchtime so he would have company again.

Harry passed time until lunch by going through the books that lined his bookshelf. Most of them were too advanced for him; he couldn't make sense of them. Others were just big, old tomes that didn't appeal to him at all. He found himself thinking about Hermione and how she would have been more than happy sitting and reading all the books held here.

He missed Hermione and Ron. Truth was that he was enjoying himself so much in this new dimension with his parents that he had not had much time to think about his friends. He had been very upset with the lack of correspondence with them. The few letters he did get were vague and offered no information as to what was happening in the wizarding world. That had annoyed him and hurt him. He had thought that after what he had suffered after the Third Task, his friends would have been there for him.

Regardless of his bitter feelings towards his friends, he still missed them. 'What would Ron say if he were to know where I am?' he thought to himself with an amused smile. 'Hermione would tell me to take notes on all the things that are different' he chuckled to himself.

These thoughts helped him through the boredom and before he knew it, it was time for lunch.

xxx

Harry sat with his dad this time and chatted quietly about his morning. James was explaining his lessons with such detail it was passing over Harry's head. He blankly nodded and gave small verbal affirmations to show he was listening, even if he didn't understand the advance Defence lessons.

He watched Damien as he walked into the Hall, surrounded by a group of friends. He noticed Ginny was missing. He still didn't know how to act around her. He knew he couldn't ignore the girl. A week with no contact from her supposed boyfriend would surely kill the relationship. Harry was fairly certain if that happened, the other Harry would kill him in return.

He saw Damien gesturing to him discreetly, signalling for him to come over. Harry nodded and excused himself from his lunch. He had finished anyway.

As Harry got up and walked across the hall, he felt all eyes fix on him. He tried to ignore them as much as possible and headed in Damien's direction. The quicker he got out of the hall, the better. He was only a few steps away from Damien when someone stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his path. Harry looked up at the familiar face as the boy hesitantly stood before him. He recognised him straight away. He was the younger brother of Colin Creevey, a fellow Gryffindor. Harry remembered being told his name; Dennis Creevey.

Harry noted at once the silence that fell on the table as Dennis stood before Harry, slightly trembling. His brother Colin got up and stood behind him. Both brothers had a look of deep shame on their faces. Before Harry could say a word or betray his confusion, Dennis suddenly dropped to his knees startling Harry.

"I'm so sorry, Harry! I'm so sorry. I can't express how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you, I could never even think about hurting you! I'm sorry about everything! I'm so sorry!" Dennis was babbling and his voice shook with fear.

Harry was mortified. He looked up and saw every eye was on him and Dennis. Even the staff was watching the strange scene, though no one got up to intervene.

"Dennis, get up!" Harry urged but the boy stayed on the ground.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so ashamed. I know you won't forgive me. What I did was unforgivable! I understand your anger!" Dennis sounded like he was near to tears.

Harry was hoping against hope the boy didn't break down and cry. That was all he needed, a sobbing boy on his knees, asking for forgiveness. He wondered what Dennis could have done to the other Harry that warranted such an apology?

"Dennis, please get off the floor." Harry said urgently.

Dennis looked up at Harry and the look of sheer fear imprinted in his eyes made Harry's stomach twist painfully. Dennis complied this time and hurried to his feet. He stood with his head bowed, his hands twisted at his front.

At this point it was painfully clear that the whole hall was watching this little exchange. Not a sound was made and everyone waited to hear what Harry had to say. Harry on the other hand didn't know he was supposed to say. How could he when he didn't know what had happened between Dennis and Harry?

"I won't ask for your forgiveness, Harry." Dennis spoke in a defeated voice. "I know I don't deserve it after what you went through because of me. I want you to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you want to give me. I deserve it after what I did."

Harry was rendered speechless. The raw fear and surrender Dennis radiated was making Harry feel sick to his stomach.

"You deserve it!"

Harry spun around to see Damien by his side, eyes narrowed and fixed on Dennis. Harry hadn't noticed at what point he had come to stand by him.

"I know" Dennis whispered, looking ashamed.

"Damien, let Dennis talk it out with Harry." Colin interrupted, talking directly to Damien.

"Fine! He's said what he wanted to say. We're leaving now!" Damien shot back. He grabbed Harry's arm. "Come on, Harry."

Before they could take one step, Colin blocked Damien.

"Look, Dennis is trying to right the wrong he did. It takes a lot to apologise in front of everyone. Let him talk this out with Harry, don't get involved." He said to Damien.

"I'll get involved if I want!" Damien growled back.

Harry saw Professor McGonagall standing only a few feet away. She along with everyone else was watching the scene carefully but didn't move to end the argument. She actually looked like she approved of Dennis and Colin, for making the apology.

Damien however was trying to get Harry out and away as fast as possible but Colin wasn't letting it happen.

Harry could see things getting ugly and quickly intervened.

"Look its fine. Don't make this into a bigger deal." He said to both Damien and Colin. He turned to face Dennis and felt his stomach twist again as Dennis visibly flinched at Harry's stare. "Dennis, I accept your apology."

Dennis' head shot up at that and he stared at Harry like he couldn't believe his ears.

"You, you do?" he asked.

"Yes, I do." Harry said, just wanting the embarrassing event to be over with.

Dennis looked at Harry for a moment, studying him and his expression.

"You're not just saying that, are you? You're not going to make me believe I'm forgiven and then hurt me?" he asked, making no effort to hide his fear.

Harry looked horrified at him.

"No! I would never do that!" he defended. That was a downright cruel thing to do to anyone.

Dennis still looked doubtful.

"How can you forgive me so easily after what I did? I, I could've…could've…killed you." The last words were whispered.

Harry felt his heart flip in his chest. That didn't sound like something that should have been forgiven easily, but too late now.

"I know" Harry swallowed heavily. "But it's in the past. As long as you never repeat your actions, I'm willing to put this whole thing behind us."

At last Dennis believed him, much to Harry's relief. He started to frantically promise he would never hurt Harry again.

Harry sighed a breath of relief when the two brothers left the hall. Harry turned to see most of the people look at him strangely, like they couldn't believe what he had just did. He turned to face Damien and saw the look of rage on the boy's face.

Silently the boy led Harry out of the hall and didn't speak until they were in an empty classroom. Only after applying a privacy spell did the boy speak to Harry.

He faced him, his wand clutched tight in his hand.

"A word of advice." He spat at Harry. "Once this whole mess is sorted and you're back in your own world, if you ever wake up to find Harry in your room, do yourself a favour and jump out of the window. It will be a much faster and less painful death, I can assure you."

"I know I messed up…" started Harry.

"Messed up? Oh, no Harry. You didn't mess up. You royally screwed up!" he hissed. "Why did you say you forgave him?"

"What else could I say? You saw the way he was acting. It was embarrassing. I just wanted him to stop and forgiving him seemed like the best thing to do." Harry explained.

Damien's glare didn't get any better.

"You don't know what you've done. Harry was after Dennis' blood! He's already pissed at you for coming to Hogwarts when he specifically told you not to. Now you've gone and forgiven the person that made Harry's life hell last year!"

Harry knew it was the wrong time to ask questions but he couldn't help himself.

"What did Dennis do?"

Damien looked surprised with the question. At first it seemed he wasn't going to answer him, but then he changed his mind.

"He poisoned him." Damien stated clearly.

At Harry's horrified look, Damien went on.

"He was drugging Harry with sleeping potion; spiking his drinks and making Harry think he was losing his mind. It got to an extent that Harry started getting really sick. Dennis' stupidity ended up causing Harry to overdose. Harry became addicted and is still suffering the effects of it. It will take years for the damage to clear!" Damien remembered the time Harry had been sick and had thrown up blood. The memory would never leave him.

Harry was looking quite dismayed at the revelation.

"Damien, I'm so sorry. I…I didn't know…"

"Of course you didn't! That's why you should have just ignored Dennis instead of forgiving him for a crime you didn't know about!" Damien snapped.

Harry jumped to his defence.

"Well, maybe you should have told me about Dennis and warned me! How am I supposed to know that he hurt Harry like that?"

Damien glared at him but didn't say anything at first.

"Maybe you should have listened to me and stayed at Potter Manor. Then none of this would have happened." He said with a quiet glower.

Harry found his own anger rising.

"I already explained to you why I couldn't stay back. It makes no sense to stay by myself when I could be with my family." Harry repeated.

Damien raised his eyebrows at the 'my family' part but forced himself to not comment. Instead he turned his attention to the door. It was time to start the afternoon classes.

"Whatever, Harry. Just stay ready after dinner today. I'll meet you outside your quarter and you can speak to Harry. He really needs to talk to you."

Harry didn't look bothered in the least.

"Okay" he replied nonchalantly.

Damien turned and left without looking back at him. He understood why Harry referred to _his_ parents as his own family. He knew deep down that in some strange, bizarre way the James and Lily of this world were technically parents to the other Harry as well. Regardless of that, Damien couldn't help but feel annoyed whenever Harry referred to them as 'his parents' or 'his family'. Despite what was before him, Damien refused to accept that the fifteen year old Harry was his brother. As far as Damien was concerned, his brother was the one who was currently stuck in another dimension. He wasn't willing to change his mind any time soon.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry left the washroom, cursing under his breath. Why did the other Harry have to go and do something so stupid? There was no way he would be able to keep up the charade of being him in Hogwarts. Dumbledore for sure would be able to tell he was different.

Harry came back to the table and sat down, still fuming over the other Harry.

"What's wrong?"

Harry looked up to see Sirius looking at him, obviously bewildered at his expression.

"Nothing" Harry responded and then had to swallow down his anger as Sirius looked at him with a questioning gaze. "I'm just tired." He provided as an explanation.

"Harry, you have to tell us about the Dementor attack. I can't believe I completely forgot about it! I feel awful!" Hermione said as she sat next to him. "What happened?"

Harry ran through the attack story he had told Remus. Around him, the table started to fill with people. Remus, Tonks, Ginny and Ron had joined Sirius and Harry and sat engrossed in Harry's re-telling.

"You must have run very fast." Ron commented.

"You don't know how lucky you are. Dementor attack! And in Little Whinging too!" Tonks said shaking her head.

Harry kept quiet and let the others discuss the attack. His mind was still on the antics of the other Harry. He couldn't stop imagining all the trouble he could cause. Suddenly Harry was pulled out of his thoughts as a scream rang out in the room.

"Fred, George, NO! Just carry them!"

It all happened in a split second. Harry turned towards Mrs Weasley's at hearing her shriek and saw several items flying at them at once. There was a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon filled with Butterbeer and a breadboard with a large bread knife, all of which were coming at the table with rapid force. The cauldron fell on the table and skidded the length of it and the Butterbeer flagon was only inches away from toppling over the edge. But the large butter knife was flying straight at Sirius and Harry. On instinct Harry reached out and caught the flying knife before it hurt Sirius. His action only registered in his mind after he caught the knife. He looked around at the table and saw the surprised and shocked reactions. He lowered the knife and placed it on the table. If he hadn't caught the knife, it would have cut through Sirius' hand.

"Whoa!" Ron was the first to speak. "Harry, how did you…?"

"I guess that mind strengthening potion worked." Harry supplied.

Mrs Weasley started yelling abuse at her twin sons, who were looking very pale with their accident. Fred ran up to the table and eyed the knife with a horrified look.

"Sorry! We didn't mean…we just thought we would save mum some time. Sirius mate, sorry, we didn't…"

"It's okay, no harm done." Sirius said, brushing Fred's apology aside. He turned to stare at Harry, a hint of pride in his eyes. "At least, thanks to Harry there wasn't."

Harry nodded, silently cursing himself. He had to watch himself. It wasn't going to do him any good if he showed his true strengths. The excuse of the potion was only going to work for so long and only for so many things. The mind strengthening potion could be used to explain sharper reflexes but not the _other_ things Harry could do. He had to make sure he kept those powers under wraps.

xxx

Dinner would have been a pleasant enough occasion, if Harry wasn't so incredibly annoyed by Mrs Weasley's constant urges for him to 'eat more'.

"No thank you. I've had enough." Harry said for the tenth time, gritting his teeth.

"Nonsense! You have to eat more than one helping." Mrs Weasley said. When it was obvious that Harry wasn't going to help himself to seconds she reached over the table and grabbed the ladle, to spoon more stew onto Harry's plate. "Here, let me." She said.

Harry grabbed her hand before she could deposit the ladle full, onto his plate. The pleasant chatter around the table came to a standstill. Everyone was staring at Harry in shock. Mrs Weasley was staring at the boy she thought of as one of her own with wide stunned eyes.

"I said, I've had enough, thank you." Harry said, the words coming out with a slight hiss, as he fought to control his anger.

He let go of Mrs Weasley's hand slowly, showing no remorse for his action. The ladle shook a little but Mrs Weasley steadied her hand. Slowly she brought the ladle back and rested it back inside the cauldron.

"Yes, of course dear." She attempted to smile but it was clear how much Harry's behaviour had upset her. She hastily looked away from him.

The table returned to its chatter but it was strained and different than previously. Ron looked like he wanted to say something to Harry but Hermione placed a hand on his and whispered something in his ear. Ron slumped in his seat and looked miserably at the ground. Harry noticed but didn't say anything.

After dinner, the occupants stayed seated in their seats and continued talking. Mrs Weasley put on the kettle and started asking who wanted tea and who wanted coffee.

"Anything you want, dear?" she asked Harry, trying to act normal with him.

Harry noted the whistling kettle behind her.

"A hot chocolate would be nice." He replied, thinking about his mum.

Mrs Weasley brightened and quickly pulled out another mug and set it down next to the others. Harry sat next to Ron and accepted the hot mug from a beaming Mrs Weasley.

As the night went on, the atmosphere turned more relaxed. Harry wanted to go to his room but stayed with the company. It was just as Mrs Weasley started ushering her kids to bed that Sirius spoke to Harry.

"I'm surprised at you Harry."

Harry looked up, taken aback.

"Why?" he asked.

"I thought when you came here the first thing you would do would be to ask about Voldemort?"

The room stilled and sharp gasps were heard. Harry felt his own insides twist as his former father was mentioned.

"Sirius!" the sharp reprimand came from Mrs Weasley.

Sirius responded by ignoring her.

"I know being in that muggle home for a month with no contact from the wizarding world must have been awful. I thought you would jump at us, demanding to know what's been going on." Sirius asked.

Harry watched as everyone had perked up, all traces of sleepiness vanished. Mrs Weasley was looking furious with Sirius.

"You shouldn't be talking to him about this! You know what Dumbledore said!" she said.

"I remember Dumbledore's orders perfectly well, thanks." Sirius answered with forced politeness.

"Then you'll remember when he said Harry was to be on a 'strictly needs to know' basis only." She answered.

Harry's eyes darkened a shade at the mention of Dumbledore and his _orders_. It was his desire to do the opposite to what Dumbledore wanted that involved him in the argument, that and the fact that he wanted Sirius to win.

"I think I have a right to know what's going on." He said, directing his words to the red haired woman standing next to him.

"No one is denying you any rights, Harry. But there are certain things you shouldn't know." Mrs Weasley said worriedly.

"Why shouldn't he know?" Sirius asked. "After all, he has suffered more at the hands of Voldemort. He's been through just as much as some members of the Order."

"I know that, but, he's still only a child!" Mrs Weasley said with a desperate look on her face.

"I'm fifteen!" Harry said, playing along.

"Exactly! Fifteen! That is not the age to be worrying about You-Know-Who and what he's up to!"

"I have to worry about it, since whatever he is up to will probably involve me." Harry replied.

The people sitting around the table stilled at the word and many people looked visibly worried.

"He's right." Sirius said finally, breaking the tense silence. "Harry has every right to know what his enemy is up to."

Harry mentally winced at the word 'enemy' but didn't comment. Mrs Weasley whirled around to face Sirius.

"Is that really the reason you're inviting him to ask questions about You-Know-Who?" she asked, her eyes narrowed at him.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

Mrs Weasley fixed Sirius with a questioning glare.

"Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's like you think you've got your best friend back." She said.

Sirius' face lost the little colour it had and a look of fury swam into his eyes. His fists were clenched tight and his jaw was also stubbornly clenched.

"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked. "If Sirius does think that, there's nothing wrong with that?"

"What's wrong is that you are not your father. The way Sirius treats you is…"

"My relationship with Harry is not up for discussion." Sirius ground out.

"I'm not saying…."

"What? What _aren't_ you saying? I think you've said enough." Sirius cut her off.

"Oh for Goodness sake, Sirius, he's not James!" Mrs Weasley yelled.

"I'm more than aware of who he is." Sirius said tightly.

"No you're not! You think of Harry as James. Just because he looks like him doesn't make Harry into James. You're so caught up with having him back in your life you're treating him like a friend when you should be treating him like a Godson!"

Sirius banged his hands against the table in anger and stood up.

"Enough! If you mention James one more time…!"

"Sirius, stop it!" Remus finally spoke. "Molly, please calm down. Sirius, _sit_ down!"

Sirius slowly lowered himself onto his chair but his glower never left the red haired woman.

"Molly, I know that you're concerned. I know that Harry means a lot to you but…" Remus started.

"But he's not your son." Sirius hissed.

"He's as good as!" Mrs Weasley shot back.

"Okay! Enough the lot of you!" Harry said standing up. "This is insane. I'm the person Voldemort is targeting so it stands to reason that I get to know what he's up to. Not telling me to protect me is utter rubbish!" Harry had to keep a hold of his anger as it threatened to spill over. With a calmer tone he continued. "I need to know what's going on, for my own sanity along with safety."

Mrs Weasley looked on the verge of tears as she spoke.

"But Dumbledore said to only tell you what you need to know."

A very ugly swear word for the Headmaster was on the tip of Harry's tongue but he pushed it back using all the willpower he had. With forced politeness he responded.

"Then consider that I need to know everything that's going on with Voldemort."

That seemed to seal the deal. Mrs Weasley looked to her husband for help but after he agreed with Harry, she gave up. With a growl she ordered her kids to go to bed. Everyone fought the order, saying that if Harry could stay, they should be able to as well. Only Ginny fell prey to Mrs Weasley and was dragged out the room and up the stairs.

When Harry met Sirius' gaze he could swear he saw a discreet wink in his direction, a half smile on his face.

"Alright, Harry. What do you want to know?"

xxx

It was very late into the night but Harry couldn't sleep. He lay awake in his bed, thinking over the information he had been told. Voldemort was looking for something, something he didn't have last time. What it was or what this weapon could be used for, no one knew. Harry had asked everything he could think of, everything about Voldemort, the number of Death Eaters, possible locations where Voldemort could be hiding but the Order didn't have any idea.

It was frustrating, mainly because Harry had the answer to all of these questions but they related back to his world. Things were different here. Voldemort was different here. He had recently come back. Where he would be staying and who was back on his side was a mystery.

Harry turned to his side and let out a sigh. Harry didn't like mysteries. If he came across them, he had a bad habit of solving them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What do you think? Will Harry help the Order of this world to solve the mystery and get to Voldemort? Or do you think his need to protect his 'father' will be too strong to overcome?

Please let me know, cheers!


	9. The phone call

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for the great reviews! Enjoy!

**Chapter Nine**

**_AU World_**

Harry heard a knock on his door at eight in the evening. Dinner was two hours ago and Harry was beginning to think Damien had forgotten about him and the phone call he had to make. He opened the door as soon as he heard the knock. Damien didn't enter the quarter, instead he gestured for Harry to come with him. Perplexed but silently, Harry followed the hazel eyed boy and left the staff quarters and headed to the staircase. By the time they reached the seventh floor, Harry was starting to wonder what the boy was up to.

"Damien, what…?" he started but was shushed.

"Wait until we're there." He whispered.

"Until we are where? Where are we going?" Harry asked.

Damien gave no answer but led him down a corridor on the seventh floor. Harry saw a large tapestry showing Barnabas the Barmy who by he looks of things was trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet. He stopped next to the tapestry and saw Damien pace the floor opposite him. He walked up and down in silence. Harry, by this point, was certain the boy had lost it. Maybe someone had hit him with a befuddlement jinx?

"Damien, what…?" again Harry was cut off but this time it wasn't by Damien. Just as Damien walked down the corridor for the third time, a door materialised in front of them. Harry gaped at the sight, Hogwarts continued to amaze him, even after four years.

Silently both boys entered the room, closing the door as quietly as they could behind them. Harry observed the room, it was large and comfortable, Gryffindor colours, red and gold decorated it. There was a roaring fire and large sofa chairs in front of it. Harry turned to face Damien.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. It equips you with whatever you need."

Harry looked around the room.

"I needed a warm place to sit." Damien offered in explanation.

Both boys sat down on the chairs before Damien pulled out his phone. Harry wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not but he thought the boy looked a little nervous. He didn't wait to speak on the phone himself and instead handed the phone over to Harry as soon as the green 'call' button was pushed.

"Here, talk" he said as he pushed the phone into Harry's hands.

Harry quickly brought the phone to his ear in time for it to be answered. He heard his counterpart's voice fill his ear.

"Damien."

"Uh, no, it's Harry."

A moment of silence passed before anyone spoke. Harry was unsure if he should start the conversation. After a few awkward moments, eighteen year old Harry spoke.

"I thought I had made it clear to Damien that you were to stay at the Manor. Did he not explain that to you?" he asked quietly.

"He did, but I…"

"But you ignored him." Harry cut in.

"I didn't ignore him." Harry defended himself.

"You must have since you are now at Hogwarts, where your cover will most likely be blown." Harry said angrily.

Fifteen year old Harry didn't know how to reply to that so chose to remain quiet. After the disastrous journey to Hogwarts and his increasing awkwardness in the presence of Professor Dumbledore, Harry knew that the chances of his true identity being discovered were relatively high.

"I don't know what you were thinking but when I tell you to do something, you do it! You don't ignore it!" Harry hissed at him.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Harry's anger flared up at being spoken to in such a way.

"You've not done anything that warrants any respect!" Harry's cold voice penetrated through into Harry's head and he involuntarily shuddered.

"Look, I know I messed up." Harry said with a resigned sigh. "But I couldn't stay at the Manor for a week when I thought I could spend that time with my parents." He tried to explain.

"I don't really care what you thought! I gave you a chance to meet your parents, the least you can do is trust me when I tell you to stay out of the way!"

Guilt surged through Harry.

"I know, but I didn't…"

"Shut up and listen!"

Harry's mouth clicked shut as the reprimand came. His insides twisted with anger at being spoken to like that but he detected the authority his counterpart spoke with and his instinct told him not to fight it.

"From now on, when I tell you to do something, you do it. When Damien tells you to do something, you do it! You should have stayed at the Manor like Damien told you to. Now you're at Hogwarts, going back will be difficult. You can't say you're going back to the Manor after being at Hogwarts for a day."

"I know that you did me a huge favour and I'm thankful and everything, but don't assume I'll do whatever you tell me to! I messed up but that doesn't mean you can talk to me like that." Harry fought back, unable to stop himself.

"Be thankful I'm just talking!" Harry responded "if I were near you, you would be a lot worse off!"

Harry didn't respond to that. He could hear the anger and annoyance in the other Harry's voice. He looked up at Damien and was surprised to see an empathetic look on his face. It was quiet in the room and Harry's angry voice carried from the phone into the room, so Damien could hear what his brother was saying. Damien looked away as Harry met his gaze and he lowered his head to avoid looking at him.

"Now listen to me very carefully because I'm not going to repeat myself." Harry's cold voice rang in his head. "Under no circumstances are you to speak to Dumbledore. If he approaches you, ignore him and walk away. If he calls you to his office, don't go."

"I, I don't think I can ignore Professor Dumbledore." Harry said, shaking his head at the mere thought.

"Oh, grow a pair, will you!" Harry snapped.

"Hey!" cried Harry.

"You have to keep Dumbledore away from yourself. If he talks to you he'll know instantly that you're not me. And then do you know what will happen? The parents that you risked your cover for will treat you like a stranger and will try to get you thrown back to your dimension as soon as possible. Do you want that?" he asked harshly.

Harry's heart constricted painfully at the thought.

"No" he whispered.

"I thought not." Harry responded. "Look, I'm not being difficult for the sake of it. I'm telling you to stay away from Dumbledore for your own good. And another thing, don't look into his eyes."

Harry was puzzled with that strange order.

"His eyes?"

"Dumbledore is a powerful Legimens." Harry explained.

Fifteen year old Harry was more confused.

"What's a Legimens?"

"It means he can read you mind and look through your memories." Harry explained through clenched teeth.

"Oh!" Harry said, that would not be a good thing, not with all the Dursley memories he had. "Okay, I'll stay away from Dumbledore."

"Good" Harry sighed with obvious relief.

"But I'm not going to stay away from mum and dad! After all that is the reason I came here." Harry said.

"Fine" Harry said, not caring about that. "Just keep clear of a few topics, the job offer from Dumbledore, anything too personal and…and Voldemort."

Fifteen year old Harry was sure he heard the tone change as Voldemort was mentioned.

"Why…?"

"Just stay away from those topics and you'll be fine!" Harry bit out. "If they talk about anything you don't know how to respond to, just act like you're upset and they'll leave you alone."

"You're not serious?" Harry asked, not believing that would work.

"Talking about Sirius, he going to look a lot different to your Sirius." Harry said, feeling his heart skip a beat at the memory of seeing the gaunt and pale face of his Godfather.

"I know, I've met him." Harry said a smile on his face at the memory of the healthy and happy Sirius Black.

"You have? When?" Harry asked.

"The first night I came here. I met him and Remus and Tonks."

Harry had no idea he had met them.

"Did everything go okay?" Harry asked, fearing the younger Harry had messed up in some way.

Harry looked at Damien and saw him vigorously nodding his head.

"Yeah, everything was fine." He said.

"Good" came the relieved response.

"Look, Harry. I'm sorry about not listening to you. I didn't ignore you it's just, I want to spend as much time as I can with mum and dad. When I go back to my world, I'll never get a chance to see them again. You understand, don't you?" Harry asked.

After a pause, Harry responded.

"More than you know."

Both Harrys talked a while longer, eighteen year old Harry giving the younger Harry more advice and explicit order to stay away from Dumbledore.

Harry suddenly remembered his awful mistake with Dennis earlier on in the day.

"Um, Harry, I have to tell you about Dennis Creevey…"

That was all he managed to say before Damien jumped from his chair and shook his head so violently, it looked like it would fall off his shoulders.

"Creevey? What about him?!" Harry asked, his tone changing to angry again.

Harry was lost, he saw Damien gesture wildly at him not to say anything.

"Um, he's at Hogwarts and tried talking to me today." Harry said, unsure of what to say. "Damien told me to ignore him."

"Do what Damien tells you. He won't let you go wrong." Harry said and the note of pride in his voice was very noticeable.

"Yeah, okay." Harry responded.

A few minutes later Harry hung up. Fifteen year old Harry sat with the phone in his hand. That had been interesting, if not a bit frightful. He never knew his counterpart could talk like that. Harry wouldn't say he was afraid of him, as that was his other self and you shouldn't be afraid of yourself, but he was definitely not looking forward to having a conversation like that again, ever. He looked up and saw the relieved look on Damien's face.

"Why didn't you let me tell him about Dennis?" Harry asked as he handed the phone back to Damien.

Damien shrugged as he pocketed the phone.

"He had just calmed down. I didn't want him to go mental on you again." He answered.

"What about the threats you made earlier about telling Harry what I did?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I was mad at you. But then I realised that you didn't do anything on purpose. It was a mistake."

"So are you not going to tell him at all?" Harry asked.

"I think when Harry comes back he's not going to be staying at Hogwarts. Hopefully, he'll never meet Dennis and he won't need to know."

Both boys headed towards the door, leaving to go back to Harry's quarter.

"And if the need arises to tell him, I'll just make sure he takes plenty of calming draught beforehand." Damien said, making the other Harry laugh sheepishly.

xxx

A few days went by and Harry found his days fall into a regular pattern. All his mealtimes were in the Great Hall, at the staff table. He chatted to his parents as much as he could during those times. During class times, Harry wandered around Hogwarts, visiting the Library, the Room of Requirement or stayed in his quarters. He was desperately bored. He had no one to talk to during the day time. After dinner was his favourite time of the day. He joined his mum and dad in their quarter and spent every moment with them talking about everything. He kept Harry's strict orders in mind but found his parents didn't mention any of those topics.

He loved spending time with his mum. She made him hot chocolate and would sit with him while marking her potions papers. She chatted to him about classes and what students were finding the subject difficult. She was concerned about her students, unlike his Potions Professor back in his world, who tried to fail as many students as possible.

His dad was a lot more fun. He would finish his classes for the day and then take Harry and Damien to the Quidditch pitch for a game. Harry had never imagined he could love flying more than he already did. Flying and Quidditch was his favourite pastimes but somehow, playing the sport alongside his dad and brother made it all the better and enjoyable.

It was his third day in Hogwarts and Harry found himself wondering the corridors after lunch. He was insanely bored. He had enough of the Library, not that he was much of a reader anyway, the weather was miserable so flying around the pitch was not an option. He didn't want to sit in his quarter so he took to wondering around the school. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction when the school caretaker Filch, looked at him, scowled but went back to his work. He didn't say anything to him. Harry figured it was because he wasn't a student so Filch couldn't tell him off.

It was just as he was wondering around the first floor, urging time to pass quickly so it was dinner time, that he heard it, a very familiar voice. He looked around and found that it was coming from the hospital wing. Quickly, Harry headed towards the doors, hearing the familiar voice more clearly as he approached the wing.

Quietly Harry pushed open the door and looked inside the bright white hospital wing. All the beds were empty but he could hear two voices, both familiar. Harry walked into the wing and stopped short at the sight.

Near the corner of the wing was a small desk and chair. Madame Pomfrey was standing on one side of the desk, a large assortment of vials was stacked along the length of the desk and the nurse was gesturing to them as she spoke. Sitting on the chair with a quill in his hand and a large sheet of parchment before him, sat Harry Potter's best friend, Ronald Weasley.

Harry gaped at the sight. Ron was older, as was everyone in this dimension. His red hair was longer and fell into his eyes. His was taller and lankier. His long legs were sprawled under the table and his long arms rested on the desk. He was absorbed in the lecture he was receiving from the school nurse. It was then that Harry noticed his friend's attire. He was dressed in white robes and they looked brand new.

Ron looked up and caught Harry standing in the doorway. His sheepish grin spread on his face and Harry couldn't help a similar smile from taking over him.

"I heard a rumour you were here. I didn't believe it but here you are." Ron said standing up and walking over to Harry.

"Ron? What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"I've started my apprenticeship. I was supposed to start my Healer training but my funding fell through at the last minute. Madame Pomfrey offered to take me on this year and train me, that way I won't waste this year. Hopefully my Healer training will start next year."

Harry didn't know his friend wanted to be a Healer. Back in his world, Ron wanted to be an Auror, like Harry.

"Wow, that's, that's great. Good for you." Harry said.

Ron grinned.

"Yeah, Professor Dumbledore gave permission for me to train here with Madame Pomfrey. It's strange being back at Hogwarts but not as a student."

"I know what you mean." Harry said.

"How are you, Harry?" the question came from behind Ron, from the school nurse who was waiting patiently for a chance to speak.

"I'm fine, Madame Pomfrey." Harry replied.

The nurse looked at Harry, her eyebrows arched high, eyes wide and surprised.

"Since when have I become Madame Pomfrey to you?" she asked, a note of hurt in her voice.

Harry was taken aback. She was always Madame Pomfrey. What else should he call her? Lost, he looked at Ron, who looked surprised at Harry too. Harry wondered if maybe the other Harry was on first name basis with the school nurse. But that seemed weird. Why would Harry be on first name basis with her? As a matter of fact, what was her first name? Harry tried to remember, he had been in her company too many times to count, he must have heard her first name at some point. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember her name.

He looked at her blankly and his mind screamed at him to say something that could cover his mistake.

"Sorry, I just saw you in teacher mode and it seemed appropriate to address you as Madame Pomfrey." Harry said plastering what he hoped was a smirk on his face.

The school nurse looked at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Male humour, I'll never get it." she sighed as she turned towards the desk and began gathering up the vials.

Harry let out a silent sigh of relief.

"So, why are you here? I thought you had turned down the offer." Ron asked.

"Yeah, I did. I still don't want the job but I didn't want to stay alone at the Manor. I figured I could spend some time with mum and dad if I was at Hogwarts as well." Harry explained.

A look of understanding dawned on Ron's face and he nodded his head.

"I understand mate, especially after everything that happened."

Harry nodded his head and dropped his gaze to the floor. He didn't know what that was in reference to but it was safer to avoid the topic.

"So what's happening with Hermione?" Harry asked.

A grin spread over Ron's face again, the tips of his ears turned bright red.

"She's mental, she is." He said but Harry could detect the note of pride in his voice. "She's been accepted into three different research projects. I think one was Herbology, the other one was effects of something or another and the last one has something to do with ancient runes. I don't know, you know how she goes all into detail and I tend to zone out. But she's knocked back the Herbology one and took on the other two."

Harry's eyebrows arched high at that.

"Two? She's taking two projects?" he asked.

"Yeah. Oh, Harry, you should have seen her. She felt so bad about knocking back the Herbology one. She was thinking she could manage to do that one as well, but I told her she wouldn't have time to eat or sleep if she did all three. Thankfully she fought against the notion and left one. But even the two projects are taking all of her time. But she's loving it, I guess that's what matters, huh?" he said, looking slightly put out.

Harry knew if there was anything his bushy haired friend liked more than anything, it was research. Hermione would certainly love every minute of it.

"Do you get to see her often?" Harry asked, wishing he could see the Hermione of this world before he went back.

"I'm meeting up with her this weekend. You and Damien come as well. She'll like that." Ron said.

Harry smiled.

"Sure, that sounds like fun." he replied.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry flung the last Doxy into the large bag and let out a relieved sigh. That was the last of them. He had been roped into helping the rest clean the drawing room. The curtains had been infested by Doxies, small fairy-like creatures that were covered with black hair and have sharp venomous teeth, and everyone was involved in getting rid of them. Naturally, Harry had been asked to help as well. Knowing that he had to play the part of the other Harry, who would have no doubt rushed to help them, he grudgingly agreed.

It actually wasn't that bad, and Harry found he could relent some of his frustration out on the annoying Doxies. He didn't bother using the Doxycide and just stunned most of them, discreetly of course.

"Just put that bag over there, in the corner, George. Wash up, everyone and I'll get some lunch." Mrs Weasley said as bustled over to the door.

As she was passing Harry, she stopped to give him a pat on the cheek, in her usual motherly way.

"Thank you for your help, Harry." She said with a smile before heading out of the door.

'She's Ginny's mum, she's Ginny's mum.' Harry repeated to himself in order to calm down. He hated people touching him, especially gestures as motherly as this. He only endured Lily for the simple fact that she was his mother. Anyone else could just piss off as far as he was concerned.

He looked around the dark room to distract himself from Mrs Weasley's annoying behaviour and observed the walls, painted in olive green. Ron and Hermione were taking an interest in the room as well and came to stand next to him. Everyone else had left the room.

"Some place this is. It's really creepy." Ron said as he looked at a small cabinet that rattled slightly.

"I know, but it is rather interesting." Hermione said, taking in everything around her.

"Don't tell me. You're going to write an essay on this aren't you?" Ron said sarcastically.

Hermione just ignored him but moved towards a large tapestry that took over one of the walls.

The tapestry looked immensely old; it was faded and looked as though Doxies had gnawed it in places. Nevertheless, the golden thread with which it was embroidered still glinted brightly enough to show them a sprawling family tree. At the very top of the tapestry it read _The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black._

"Look at this." Hermione said, coming to stand at the foot of the tapestry.

"Didn't you see this when you came in? It's a bit hard not to notice it." Ron said but joined her nonetheless.

"Of course I saw it. But I never got the chance to examine it." Hermione said, trailing her fingers gently over the golden lines.

Harry, who knew all he needed to know about the Black family, ignored the other two. Bella used to take great pride in talking about the 'Noble house of Black'. Of course, she used to leave Sirius out.

"Harry! Look at this! Sirius is related to ferret face!" Ron yelled.

"Ferret face?" Harry questioned under his breath. He turned to Ron and audibly asked, "What?"

"I know, hard to believe." Ron said, still looking at the tapestry.

Harry walked over to see what he was talking about and saw his finger pointing at the name, _Draco Malfoy_.

Harry didn't let his annoyance on behalf of his best friend show on his face. Instead he smirked and turned to Ron.

"You do realise that if the Malfoys are related to the Black family and the Weasley family is also related to the Black family then that means…" Harry trailed off on purpose, watching as understanding hit home for Ron.

His blue eyes widened with horror.

"Oh, no!"

Harry's smirk deepened as he saw Ron turn to the tapestry and try and locate his father's name. It was represented as a dark burned mark.

"I'm related to Malfoy!" Ron screeched.

Harry and Hermione both had to suppress the giggle at the expression on Ron's face. Harry slapped a hand on Ron's shoulder and faked empathy.

"Ah, well. It could be worse. You could be first cousins."

Ron gaped at Harry before throwing his hand off his shoulder.

"Shove off, Harry!" he said moodily.

Harry only laughed in response.

"Oh, come on, Ron. It's not that bad. You're only a distant relative of his." Hermione said consolingly.

"Filthy creatures, dirty mudblood and blood traitors, tainting my mistresses home and talking about her family. Oh, what shame, my poor mistress. And look, there's a new one!" The voice caught all three teens' attention.

Harry looked towards the door and saw the small, filthy looking house elf. Its large dull eyes were set on Harry and the other two. He was still muttering insults at them as he scuttled across the threshold of the door, acting like he was oblivious to the attention he was getting.

"Great! The weirdo house elf is back." Ron said, scowling at him.

"Ron! Don't call him that. You know he's not well." Hermione admonished him at once. She looked at the house elf kindly, even when the creature was looking at her with mistrust and clear dislike.

"Kreacher, this is Harry Potter." She introduced.

The house elf looked horrified at her and scuttled back a few steps.

"The mudblood is talking to Kreacher like she is a friend!" he said with a hiss of dislike.

"I told you before! Don't call her that!" Ron yelled, advancing on him.

"Ron, don't." Hermione said, grabbing him by the arm. "He's not right in the head. He doesn't know what he's saying."

"Don't kid yourself, Hermione. He knows exactly what he's saying." A voice sounded from the doorway. Sirius stalked into the room, glaring at the house elf, who begrudgingly bowed before him. "He's perfectly aware of what filth spews from his mouth!"

Hermione looked at Sirius with a frown.

"Maybe if you were a little nicer to him…" she started.

"Come on, Hermione. You've been living here for a few weeks now. You should know by now that Kreacher is not worth being spoken to nicely."

While Sirius and Hermione had an argument over Kreacher, the house elf used the distraction to stare at Harry.

"Is it true? Was the mudblood telling the truth? Is it Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived? Kreacher can't see the mark, Kreacher wonders if it is him? Harry Potter, the son of the mudblood and blood traitor."

Harry felt the urge to kick him, hard. With a glower Harry grabbed the house elf from the filthy pillow case that was wrapped around him and held him tightly.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself! If I hear you talk like that again, I'll rip your tongue clean out, understand?"

The elf looked at Harry with its large wide eyes. He nodded his head slowly and didn't utter a peep. Harry let go of him and pushed him away forcefully, making the elf fall to the ground. When Harry looked around he saw all eyes on him. Hermione was looking horrified at him. Ron was looking a little bewildered but Sirius had an outright smile on his face.

"See? That's the way to deal with him." he said as Kreacher quickly scooted out of the room, without a single word. "That's the way he's been treated, that's the only language he understands."

But Hermione didn't seem to hear him. She was staring at Harry with a look of disbelief.

"Harry? How could you?" she said, her voice trembling.

"Hermione! He was calling Harry's parents names! Why should Harry stand for that?" Ron said, rounding on Hermione.

Hermione didn't have a response to that so she turned and marched out of the room. Sirius shook his head at her retreating back and then turned to face Harry. A bright smile graced his tired looking face.

"Don't let her reaction bother you, Harry. You didn't do anything wrong." Sirius reassured him, glowing with pride that Harry defended his parents.

Harry didn't comment and left with Ron and Sirius, heading downstairs for a bite to eat.

xxx

Ron found Hermione in the library, sitting moodily on the dusty floor, a few hours later.

"Why are you in a mood?" he asked as he approached her.

"I'm not in a mood." She answered, tracing what looked like runes onto the dusty floor.

"Hermione, don't get worked up over Kreacher. That nasty thing insulted Harry's parents."

"I know, I know." Hermione interrupted.

"Then why are you in a mood with Harry?" Ron asked.

"I'm not, it's just…I never thought Harry would act like that." She said, her voice betraying her confusion and hurt. "Never in my life did I think Harry could treat another living being like that. It just felt…wrong. He seems so different." she said with a whisper.

Ron sat down next to Hermione, his knees tucked up under him.

"Hermione, you were the one who was lecturing me the other day to ignore the things Harry does. You told me that Harry was bound to act different after what he saw in the graveyard. Cedric's… death and You-Know-Who coming back and everything with the Ministry not believing him and the Daily Prophet taking digs at him, all of that is bound to affect him."

"Yes I know and I know that his recent behaviour is because he's going through a horrible, rough time, but I never expected him to talk to a house elf like that, look how friendly he is with Dobby." Hermione said.

"Dobby doesn't call his dead parents names." Ron pointed out. "When Harry was weird with my mum at dinner, you whispered to ignore it because Harry was dealing with things. I didn't like the way he spoke to mum and yet I know that he cares about her. Like you said, it's all because of You-Know-Who being back and Harry being caught in the middle of all this."

Hermione looked at Ron and smiled.

"You're right." She whispered. "Thanks, Ron."

"Don't mention it." Ron said helping her to her feet.

"Just give Harry time. He'll be back to his usual self soon." Ron said as he walked back towards the door.

Hermione followed him but couldn't help thinking about how different Harry was and if he was ever going to go back to his normal self.

xxx

By the third day, Harry was sick of cleaning. He hated the way Mrs Weasley coaxed him into helping them. He hated the stupid muggle ways of scrubbing the carpets and washing the curtains and tablecloths.

He wasn't going to do it anymore.

Harry decided to spend more time with Sirius and would spend hours chatting to him and staying out of the way of Mrs Weasley. Harry learned a lot more about the Order of this world and their recent strategies to fight against Voldemort.

Harry was surprised that he had not met the Dumbledore of this world yet. He had expected the leader of the Order to make an appearance soon at the Headquarters, but so far, he hadn't arrived.

Harry sat down at dinner and listened to Ron moan about all the mould he had fought off today.

"I swear I can't clean anymore! I feel like a bloody house elf!"

"Well, now you know what it feels like." Hermione added as she sat down with Ginny.

"Hermione, give me a break!" Ron groaned.

Harry glanced at Ginny who had taken a seat opposite him. He had hardly seen her or talked to her, she was too busy cleaning. Harry still found it weird to see a younger Ginny. Looking at the fourteen year old, Harry found his desire to see his own Ginny intensify. He couldn't wait until the stupid compass was ready to take him back to his world, back to his Ginny.

Ginny looked up and smiled at Harry, forcing Harry to smile back and then look away. He wondered what kind of relationship the Harry of this world had with this Ginny. They weren't going out, that much was clear. As far as he could guess Harry only regarded Ginny as the younger sister of his best mate, nothing more, nothing less.

It was just as Mrs Weasley placed the roasted chicken before him that it hit Harry. _His _Ginny was at Hogwarts, where the other Harry currently was. She didn't know about the switch, naturally, and so expected the other Harry to act like her boyfriend. Just the thought of the other Harry possibly kissing Ginny or being with her made a fiery wave of anger spread inside him. He quickly got up from the table.

"I have to…I got to…I'll just be back." He said as he raced from the room, heading towards the bathroom.

"It's probably the turkey sandwiches he ate at lunch. Felt a bit weird myself." Sirius said, earning a glare from Mrs Weasley.

"My food is cooked properly and thoroughly." She exclaimed.

"Tell that to my stomach." Sirius whispered when her back was turned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This is the last update for about two months. I come back end of April so the next update will be early May. I have posted three chapters in total, so make them last the two moths!! Please review every chapter and tell me what you thought of it! I want to have plenty of reviews to come back to. They'll only inspire me to get back into writing after two months break!! Cheers!


	10. Ginny and the truth

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Enjoy!!

**Chapter Ten**

**_AU World_**

Damien woke up as the phone under his pillow vibrated. He sat up, fishing for his wand so he could cast a 'Silencio' and not wake up anyone with his talking. With sleep still clinging onto him, he reached for the phone and answered it, flopping back onto his side.

"Hmm, Hello?" he muttered sleepily.

"Damien, I just realised something!" Harry said from the other end.

"That it's five in the morning in this world." Damien muttered.

"Damien, wake up! This is important." Harry said, sounding very annoyed and impatient.

"Nothing is important this early in the morning." Damien replied with a wide yawn.

"Ginny is at Hogwarts!" Harry blurted out.

Damien took a moment to answer.

"You just figured that out now?" he asked his brother.

"Yes! I mean, no, not like that! I just realised that Ginny is at Hogwarts and so is Harry!"

Understanding hit home and Damien couldn't help but grin.

"Oh, finally figured that out, did you?" he asked.

"I didn't get the chance to really think about it!" Harry defended. "When I made the switch I thought it was only for two days. When the compass didn't work I thought Harry would listen and stay at the Manor while Ginny was at Hogwarts. When you told me Harry was at Hogwarts as well, all I could think about was him meeting Dumbledore. Ginny didn't even enter my mind! It was only until a few minutes ago that I realised Ginny is there with the other Harry!"

Damien chuckled.

"Damien!" Harry growled warningly.

"Sorry, Harry." Damien sobered. "It's just; Ginny met the other Harry on his second day in this world. She came to see you the night before everyone was to leave for Hogwarts."

"Shit!" Harry cursed.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad; the other Harry didn't even know that you and Ginny were dating! It was rather funny." Damien told him.

"I'm glad you were amused!" Harry said with scorn.

Damien only chuckled again.

"So, why did you phone me?" Damien asked now fully awake.

"So you can tell Harry to stay away the hell away from Ginny!" Harry responded.

"Okay, Harry will stay away from her but how do we keep _her_ away from Harry?" Damien asked

Harry cursed again. This was really getting messy. Harry realised that he only had one option.

"Tell Ginny the truth." Harry said after a few minutes.

Damien sat up in bed.

"For real?"

"Yeah, she has a right to know." Harry said quietly. He couldn't keep Ginny in the dark about his switch, especially after the way he had treated her for keeping him in the dark regarding the Sedare potion.

"Okay, I'll tell her as soon as she's up." Damien said, relieved that he could share this secret with someone else.

Being the only one to know about Harry's switch was driving him insane. At least Ginny would be in on it. Damien wasn't particularly looking forward to telling her though. He knew how hot tempered his red haired friend could be and telling her that her Harry was stuck in another dimension was not going to be fun.

xxx

By half seven that morning, Damien was up and was ready for the day. He waited in the common room for Ginny to make an appearance. He cursed the stupid staircase in the girls' dormitory. It turned to a slide if any boy tried entering the girls' dorm. It was so unfair; after all, girls could enter the boys' dormitory with no problems whatsoever.

It was past eight and many Gryffindors left the common room heading fro breakfast but there was no sign of Ginny. Damien wondered when she would be getting up. Ginny wasn't a lazy person. She was usually up before the rest of them.

He saw a seventh year girl he knew as Ginny's dorm mate, make her way towards the portrait. He called out to the blonde haired girl.

"Rose-Marie! Have you seen Ginny?" he asked.

The pretty girl shook her head.

"She wasn't in her bed when I got up this morning." She said before stepping out.

Damien wondered where Ginny was. He had been waiting for her in the common room since half seven in the morning. She couldn't possibly have left the tower before that time, could she?

He quickly left the common room and ran to the Great Hall to see if she was at breakfast. But his red haired friend wasn't at the table either. He decided to check on Harry, to tell him about his brother's phone call.

He knocked once on Harry's door but no one answered it. He tried the handle but the door was locked. Wondering where Harry was, Damien turned to leave. James had just opened his door to leave and caught sight of Damien.

"Morning, Damien." He called to his youngest son.

"Morning." Damien replied.

"You're up early. You're usually not up before quarter to nine." James joked.

"I was awakened early this morning." Damien said, thinking about Harry's phone call. "Any idea where Harry is? His door is locked."

"He was with me this morning, he usually comes in to see me before breakfast. We usually go to the Great Hall together, but today he was whisked away by his lovely girlfriend." James said with a smile.

Damien's heart jumped at that.

"Ginny came to see him?" he asked.

"Yeah, she said she needed to speak to him, in private." James said.

'Not good, not good, this is so not good!' Damien thought to himself.

"Oh, okay. I'll…I'll see you later, dad." Damien said, making his way back up to the main hall.

"You want to walk with me to Breakfast?" James called out after him.

"Uh, no not now, I just need to…to do something. Later, dad!" and with that Damien had dashed away, trying to get to Harry and Ginny as fast as he could.

James wondered what Damien had to do that required such a fast exit.

xxx

Harry was nervous; he had good reason to be. He was alone with Ginny Weasley and she looked pissed. They were outside while the rest of Hogwarts was inside, either still in bed or making their way sleepily to the Hall for breakfast. Ginny had led Harry to a secluded part of Hogwarts grounds and currently was sitting next to him in stony silence.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Harry asked, steeling his nerves.

Ginny looked him in the eyes and spoke one word.

"Us"

'Oh, boy!' Harry muttered nervously under his breath. This was just what he needed.

"Lately you've been ignoring me and I don't understand why." Ginny said, looking at Harry intently.

"I've not been ignoring you." Harry said, not meeting her eye. "I've just been…busy and stuff."

"Busy with what?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowing at him. "You're not taking the job offer, you're not furthering any studies and you're here at Hogwarts doing nothing."

Harry didn't know what to say so he kept quiet. Ginny went on.

"Look, I'm not asking for much, just a hello in the mornings would be nice. I don't know what is occupying all of your time but if you could take a few minutes to talk to your girlfriend it would be appreciated." She said sarcastically.

Harry nodded his head, quick to agree with her.

"Sorry, Ginny." He said quietly, hoping to pacify her.

Ginny looked surprised with the apology and stared at Harry.

"What's up with you?" she asked. "You're acting very strange."

Harry was carefully avoiding looking at her.

"I'm not. I know that you're right and I shouldn't be ignoring you. I won't from now on." He promised.

Ginny was looking at him, clearly not satisfied with his explanation.

"We better get back." Harry said, standing up.

Ginny got up as well but continued to look at Harry with suspicion.

"Okay, but I want you to promise to spend the evening with me." Ginny said, her words spoken clearly and carefully.

"Yeah, sure, okay." Harry said, not picking up on her tone.

Ginny moved closer to Harry, surprising him. Her arms snaked around his torso and she held him in her embrace. Her face leaned closer to Harry's, so close she could feel his panicked breath on her face. Without giving Harry much of a chance to do anything, Ginny moved in and kissed him. This time, Harry never got a chance to move his face and the kiss caught him with surprise.

The kiss was awkward, tense and not right. Harry was trying to both stay put and move away at the same time. The feeling of Ginny's lips on his was terrifying, for two reasons. One, she was Ron's sister and it was wrong to kiss your best friends sister. The second was the thought of what the other Harry would do to him if he found out he had kissed his girlfriend.

Ginny pulled out of the kiss but didn't move away from him. Harry chanced an awkward glance at her and it was in that instant that he knew his cover was blown. Ginny's soft brown eyes had hardened and before Harry could say a single word, she pushed him away, hard. Her wand was whipped out and aimed at his head before he could catch his balance.

"Who are you?!" she asked, her voice cold all of a sudden.

"What are you talking about? It's me, Harry." The raven haired boy replied, keeping a close eye on the wand.

"You're not Harry! Tell me where he is! Who are you? What have you done to Harry?!" Ginny was trembling but her wand was held steady and fixed on the boy before her.

"Ginny, listen, it's not what you think. I am Harry…" Harry had to stop and jump out of the way as Ginny sent a stunning hex at him.

"Ginny, stop!" Harry yelled as he hit the ground hard and had to roll out of the way of another spell.

But the red haired girl didn't listen to him and aimed at him again. By this time, Harry had reached for his own wand and before Ginny could hit him, he whipped it out and took aim.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry's disarming spell caught Ginny and her wand flew from her hand.

Harry picked himself up from the ground and stood with his wand still aimed at Ginny. Outraged and incensed, Ginny bolted for him, not caring that the boy had a wand pointed at her. Her well aimed kick caught Harry in the shin and he doubled over in pain.

"OW! Merlin, Ginny! Stop it!" Harry yelled and tried to catch the girl's fists as they rained down on him, his wand dropped to the ground in the process.

"Where's Harry?! What have you done with him!? Who sent you!?" Ginny yelled as she continued to fight him.

"Ginny! No! Stop! Stop!" Damien's voice was a welcomed relief to both Harry and Ginny.

Ginny was grabbed around the waist and pulled away from Harry who swooped down to grab his wand at once. Ginny tried to turn around and face Damien but the boy's grip was too tight. She yelled at him instead.

"Damy! Let me go! He isn't Harry! He's an impostor!" Ginny yelled pointing a finger at Harry.

"Shh! For Merlin's sake, Ginny! Someone will hear you!" Damien said, depositing the girl a few steps away from Harry and looking around the area. Thankfully they were in a secluded part of Hogwarts grounds and no one was around to hear them.

"He's not Harry!" Ginny shouted, glaring at Harry with angry tears in her eyes.

"I know!" Damien said, trying to get her to stop yelling that loudly.

Ginny halted in her actions and stared at Damien. Her eyes were wide and still glistening with tears.

"What?"

"I know, I know who he is." Damien said quietly this time. "Come with me and I'll explain everything. I can't out here." He quickly told her.

Ginny looked between the two boys and hesitated for a second.

"Gin, trust me, please come inside the castle." Damien said.

"Your wand." Ginny said, reaching a hand forward to take his wand, suspicion in her eyes

Wordlessly, Damien handed her his wand.

"Happy? Let's go."

Ginny kept Damien's wand pointed at the other Harry while she walked over to the point her wand had fallen. She picked up her wand before giving Damien back his wand.

Damien led the other two back inside the castle. While everyone else was busy having breakfast, the three Gryffindors headed to the Room of Requirement to have a very complicated talk.

xxx

"So let me get this straight." Ginny said, sitting on the red chair, facing Damien. "You and Harry went to another dimension, by accident, and met that world's Harry. Both Harrys decided to change places for a few days but the compass that transports between worlds is not working anymore meaning that my Harry is stuck in that other world until the compass fixes itself and no one knows how long that will take."

"That's about it, yeah." Damien said, weakly.

"Okay" she started and then fell silent. "I could so freak out right now." she said, looking like she could faint at any given moment.

"But, we're thankful that you're not." Damien said, trying to give her his usual smiles.

"Give it a minute" she said dryly.

The other Harry was watching the exchange from the other side of the room. He didn't take part in explaining what had happened. He listened to Damien run through the details of their meeting in his world. He noted that Damien didn't reveal much about Harry's life, he hadn't even mentioned the Dursleys.

Ginny was soon up on her feet.

"I can't believe you let Harry stay in that other world!" she said.

"I tried to stop him! But you know Harry, stubborn as hell." Damien said.

"Why did this compass thing stop working? What did you do to it?" she asked, rounding on him.

"Why does everyone assume I did something to it?" Damien asked incredulously.

"Something must have happened to it." Ginny said.

"I don't know what happened to it." Damien argued back.

Ginny was starting to get worked up now. The shock of what had happened was wearing off and she understood the severity of the situation.

"Who knows about the switch?" she asked.

"Everyone inside this room." Damien answered.

Ginny's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Damien! Your parents are going kill you…!"

"And dance on my grave, yeah, I know." Damien cut across.

"Don't make jokes." Ginny reprimanded.

"Who's joking?"

Ginny fixed him with a glare but didn't say anything. Damien got up and went over to her.

"Harry said to give the compass a week. He's sure it will gather up the required energy to make the swap by then. This Sunday will complete the week. Hopefully Harry will be back on Sunday."

"But you don't know for sure. What if it doesn't work? What if he's stuck in that other world?" Ginny asked fearfully.

"Ginny, I'm trying to think positive here. Don't knock it!"

Ginny opened her mouth to say something in return but then changed her mind.

"I can't believe he did this. How could he take such a risk?" she questioned.

Damien pulled out the phone and pushed the call button.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" he said as he handed her the phone.

Ginny took the phone and looked at Damien with confusion.

"But…how…?" she asked.

"It's Harry showing off again." Damien said with a laugh.

Ginny brought the phone to her ear and let out a gasp of surprise when she heard Harry answer at the other end.

"Hello? Damien? Hello?"

"Harry?"

After a moment of silence, Harry responded.

"Hey, Ginny. How are you?" Harry said and Ginny could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

That was all it took for Ginny to start on him. She headed to a corner of the room to get some privacy but the two boys could still hear her yell at him.

Damien looked away from her and saw Harry, sitting quietly. He went over to him and sat down.

"You okay, mate. You're very quiet."

Harry looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. You had to tell Ginny the truth because of me." He winced as Ginny's angry voice drifted over to him.

"Don't worry about it. I was going to do it today anyway." Damien laughed.

"Really? Why?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Harry called this morning. The genius only just realised Ginny was with you at Hogwarts. He told me to tell her the truth."

Harry felt much better about that, until he heard Ginny yell again.

xxx

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Harry and Damien. They only saw Ginny again in the evening when she knocked on Harry's door. She looked at Harry differently now, almost nervously.

"I'm sorry, about attacking you." She said.

"Don't mention it." Harry responded.

"Still, I think I should apologise. I could have hurt you."

"No seriously don't mention it. It's embarrassing." Harry said with a shy smile.

Ginny looked at Harry before a smile graced her face as well.

"How did you know he wasn't Harry?" Damien asked.

"I was suspicious, ever since the night before we were to come here. Harry was just so different. Then when I asked you to come and spend the evening with me, you just agreed. Everything I said to you was easily agreed to. My Harry's not like that. When I kissed you, I knew straight away you weren't my Harry."

Harry had guessed as much. The kiss was a dead give away. Aside from the fact that Harry had never really kissed anyone before, he was horribly nervous and awkward with Ginny. He had figured the other Harry didn't kiss like that.

"Whoa, you kissed her?" Damien asked Harry, getting up from his chair.

"She kissed me!" Harry defended.

"Only to see if I was right in my suspicions." Ginny explained.

"Don't tell Harry. He'll go nuts." Damien said.

For some reason, Ginny smiled at that.

"Really? Does he get bothered by stuff like that?" she asked, a girly blush making her go pink.

"Extremely. And it doesn't matter that it was still technically Harry who kissed you." Damien supplied.

Ginny couldn't stop smiling at that.

"Were you okay this morning. You missed most of your first class?" Harry asked.

"Not really. McGonagall gave me detention. But it's okay. Talking to Harry was more important than Transfiguration anyway." Ginny answered.

They talked for a while longer; Ginny kept shooting Harry looks, it was clear to see that she wanted to question him about his life in his world. At last she couldn't hold back any longer.

"Do you know me in your world? Are we friends?"

Harry smiled.

"Your brother, Ron, is my best friend. I know your whole family and yes, you're a friend." Harry purposefully left out the part about Ginny taking a fancy to him. He didn't want to make her feel awkward.

"Do you actually look like this, or is it a glamour?" she asked, taking in interest to him.

"Why do you ask?" Harry asked nervously. He wanted to push his hair down flat to cover his forehead but resisted the temptation.

"I'm just curious." Ginny asked.

"Harry did a glamour spell to make me look exactly like him." Harry answered, relieved that Ginny hadn't noticed his scar.

"Oh, so you look different to him? How?" Ginny asked.

"To start off, I'm about three years younger than him." Harry said and smiled at the shocked expression Ginny wore.

"Oh God, you're Damien's age!" she exclaimed.

"Nearly, I turn fifteen in a month." Damien reminded her.

"I had no idea, I mean I couldn't have, what with the glamour spell but…you're fifteen!?" she asked again.

Harry and Damien laughed at her shocked expression.

"So, how are you finding the things in this world? Are they really different? Besides the sister of your best friend attacking you, that is?" Ginny asked with a smile.

Harry's expression was one that showed a multitude of emotions. The most prominent was happiness.

"Its something I always dreamed of." He responded.

Damien quickly interjected, afraid that Ginny may make a remark about Harry's childhood with Voldemort. He didn't need that on top of everything.

"I think we should go. Filch is patrolling the corridors and I don't have my cloak with me."

Harry swung around at the mention of the cloak.

"Invisibility cloak?" he asked.

Damien nodded his head.

"Yeah, it used to be dads."

Harry smiled a sad smile.

"I know." he answered. "Why do you have it? I thought dad would have given it to Harry."

Ginny looked between the boys with a frown.

"He did, but Harry passed it onto me." Damien lied, ushering Ginny towards the door.

As soon as the two left Harry's quarters, Ginny faced Damien.

"Why did you lie?" she asked.

"There's more to tell you, wait until we get to the common room."

"Are the secrets not over yet?" Ginny asked with a sigh.

'Far from it' Damien thought to himself.

xxx

The common room was empty and the privacy charm was placed in every corner of the room. Even then, Damien explained what the other Harry had been told about this world in a whisper.

Ginny listened without interrupting but her expression hardened with every word. Once Damien was finished, she didn't speak until a few minutes.

"Damien, what the hell?"

"I know." Damien responded. "It's what Harry told me to say."

"You told him that the Harry of this world stayed away from his family because he was on a training programme?" Ginny asked with annoyance. "What do you think he's going to say when he finds out the trainer was Voldemort?"

Damien hid his face in his hands and groaned.

"I know, I know, but what am I supposed to do? Telling this Harry the truth is not an option."

"Why?" Ginny asked confused.

Damien took a deep breath.

"Voldemort killed my parents." he whispered. "In the world that Harry belongs to, James and Lily Potter was murdered by Voldemort. That's what changed everything. Peter Pettigrew never took Harry to him, instead he led Voldemort to Godric's Hollow where he killed my parents."

Ginny had a hand over her mouth and was staring at Damien with growing horror.

"Oh, God, Damien!" she whispered.

"Harry's an orphan. He was sent to live with my aunt Petunia since the age of one."

Ginny's horror grew at that revelation.

"Your muggle aunt? The one who doesn't even know your name?"

"That's the one." Damien replied miserably. "She and her husband brought Harry up with neglect. He was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs until he was eleven. You should see what he really looks like, Gin. He's stick thin and so small. All of that is because he wasn't looked after properly."

Ginny was fighting tears by his point.

"I can't believe that. That's horrible." She exclaimed.

"That world is so different from ours. I don't even exist! Mum and dad are dead, Sirius spent more than a decade in Azkaban, everything is twisted." Damien said with a sad sigh. "Now do you see what I mean? How can I tell this Harry that the man he hates more than anything in this world, the one who took everything away from him, is the same man that the Harry of this world served? That his other dimensional self was raised and loved by Voldemort, that Harry loved him and killed on Voldemort's orders. That Harry was the legendary Dark Prince who everyone feared. How do you think Harry will take that news?"

Ginny was speechless. For long minutes neither spoke.

"He'll find out." Ginny's voice rang in the room. "Sooner or later. Something as big as this can't stay hidden forever."

"He won't be here forever!" Damien said a little too forcefully.

"Damy, secrets don't stay secret for too long. What if he finds out?" Ginny asked.

Damien shook his head, not willing to imagine how that confrontation would go.

"He won't find out. He'll be gone before that. Hopefully by this Sunday, he'll be in his world." Damien couldn't help but add a small silent prayer at the end.

--

_**Canon World**_

The house was silent and quiet. Everyone was asleep. Harry lay in his bed, his conversation with Ginny going through his mind. 'Merlin, was she pissed!' Harry thought to himself. His heart ached to be with her again. He could have calmed her right down.

He hoped the compass worked this time. He wanted to go home, back to his world, back to his parents, to Damien and to his Ginny.

The days in Grimmauld place were getting on his nerves. The never ending cleaning was irritating him, even though he wasn't a part of it anymore. Sirius and him quickly ran out of things to talk about. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were engrossed in the cleaning and Mrs Weasley was bothering Harry more and more. He wanted out. He needed to get out, even for a few hours. With that thought in mind, Harry quietly crept out of his bed careful not to wake the sleeping Ron. He transfigured his pillow into a lump roughly his size and threw the covers around it. He was going to be back before anyone was up but this was just in case.

He silently transfigured his clothes into muggle attire. With an almost inaudible pop, Harry disapparated out of the Headquarters.

xxx

Harry didn't have to think about where he wanted to go. He quickly found himself walking down the familiar streets, making his way boldly to his destination. He found it quickly; the location was the same as in his world. Harry took in the sight of the familiar club. It looked identical to the one back in his world. With a grin, Harry entered the club and took in the sight with relish. It was already bustling with people, the square ring with ropes surrounding it was in the middle of the large hall. The crowd gathered were yelling at the two men inside the ring. Some were words of encouragement, others were the opposite. The scent of blood and sweat mingled together made Harry's heart race with excitement. _Alex_ had not been here in so long.

He spotted the grey haired man near the front and recognised him as the owner. Harry had last met this man when Frank and Alice had just taken over John Allen's business. After that, _Alex_ only fought for _Little John_. Mr Jenkins, the owner of this club, was heartbroken when Alex told him he couldn't fight in his fight club anymore.

Harry made his way over to him, ready to get a fight or two. He desperately needed to vent off some frustration.

xxx

The fight was spectacular. Harry loved every minute of it. He dodged the blows his opponent sent at him with such ease and grace that it earned him ear deafening applause and praise. Harry revelled in his attacks and got in as many as he could. He twisted out of the way as the blond haired man sent his fist towards his face. Harry swung around and caught the man in the jaw, sending him crashing to the ground.

"KNOCKOUT!" was yelled by the crowd and cheers vibrated around him.

Harry had a total of two fights. He wanted more but that was all offered to him tonight. Mr Jenkins was eager to get him in again. He tried to get all the details he could but Harry only gave out his name, Alex.

"Alex what?" the pretty dark haired woman asked as she jotted down his details.

"Just, Alex." Harry grinned in response.

Harry didn't watch any of the fights following his, he wasn't interested in them. He walked out of the club ignoring the words of praise the crowd offered. All in all, he felt pretty relaxed. He knew it was reckless to leave the Headquarters in case someone noticed his absence. But Harry figured he could just say he went outside for a walk. It shouldn't cause such a big deal.

Harry walked around for a while, enjoying the freedom from the Headquarters. It was quite a nice night, a perfect summer's night, as they say. Harry ended up walking a far distance from the fight club, enjoying the quietness and stillness around him. It was therapeutic, especially after the racket that went on everyday in Grimmauld Place with the twins up to their usual antics and Mrs Weasley's loud shrieking in return making the portrait of Mrs Black scream abuse.

Harry walked around as long as he could. When he felt his legs tire and he knew he had to rest, he stopped. With a dejected sigh, he decided it was time to go back. He couldn't walk around all night.

Harry was looking for a good spot to disapparate when he felt it; the magic in the air. His skin prickled with shivers as the familiar sensation washed over him. Harry looked around the deserted street and tried to spot the location from where the magic was originating. He couldn't see anything.

As quietly as he could, Harry neared the corner, keeping his back pressed against the closed shops. Harry peeked around the corner and saw what was happening.

Death Eaters, four of them were surrounding a car, one that had three people screaming inside it. Harry watched as their mouths opened and closed and their fists banged against the closed windows, but not a sound of their panic and anguish was heard. The Death Eaters had cast silencing charms around the car so no one could hear them. Harry tried to take a closer look at who was in the car; he spotted two females and one male, who were trying frantically to break the window to get out. The two females, one older and one younger, had tears streaming down the faces, as they pleaded to their captors to let them go. Harry thought he recognised the girl; it was difficult to tell, what with it being so dark.

As Harry moved closer, still staying in the shadows, he saw what the Death Eaters were doing that was panicking the occupants of the car. The smell was what hit Harry first before he saw the thick liquid stream from the end of their wands. They were dousing the car with petrol. One of the Death Eaters spoke; his voice quiet but full of hate.

"Come now, Abbot! You should have thought about your fate when you decided to marry that filthy muggle! We can't have you dirtying our world with mudbloods, can we?"

Harry saw the older woman shake her head at them, silent pleads falling from her mouth. She clutched at her daughter, who in return clung to her and buried her face into her, sobs racking them both. The man, dark haired with glasses, had looked away from the Death Eater and was trying to get his car to move, so he could save his family. Harry could see the wheels of the car spin madly but the car stayed put. The four Death Eaters roared with laughter and waved their wands in front of him.

"Its magic you stupid muggle!" one of them said and Harry instantly recognised Nott's voice.

"Come on, lets finish this." the third man said, giving himself away as Avery.

The four men lowered their wands, stopping the continuous flow of petrol. The car was dripping with it. Avery raised his wand and a flame appeared at the end of it. The car shook as the three people inside it panicked, trying desperately to find escape.

"Another group of filth removed from the world." Avery hissed as he lowered his wand to the car.

The flame was only inches away before it went out. Avery looked at his wand. He ignited the wand again and lowered it but the flame died before reaching the car.

"What in the name…?" Avery muttered and tried the spell again.

"What are you doing?!" Nott hissed.

"I don't…it won't ignite. I don't understand." The Death Eater said looking at his wand.

"I'll do it!" said the fourth Death Eater and tried the same spell.

The three people inside the car watched with terrified expressions as the flame refused to touch the car.

"What is going on?!" Avery cried out as none of them could ignite the petrol drenched car.

Suddenly an unseen force struck him across the face and the Death Eater slammed into the car, caught off guard. He looked around but couldn't see his attacker.

"What happened?" one of them asked.

"There's…there's someone else here!" Avery replied as he held his wand out before him, ready to defend himself.

"You don't say!" said a sarcastic voice behind them. The four Death Eaters turned around at the voice. Harry finally stepped out from the shadows, his wand in his hand and a smirk on his face. "Not very astute but then again, you are a Death Eater."

The men had their faces hidden behind masks so Harry couldn't see their expressions but he knew they must have looked a real sight. They blinked up at him, wands held uselessly in their hands.

"Potter!?" one of them asked, obvious disbelief in his voice.

"No, it's not Potter! It can't be!" Nott said.

Harry grinned and walked a few steps nearer.

"Why don't you guys debate amongst yourselves as to who I am, while I kick your sorry backsides back to your hell holes?"

That made the men spring into action. One of them threw a spell at Harry, which he calmly side stepped. If anything could have made the four men's mouths drop open, it was this.

"Who are you?!" one of them asked as Harry moved out of the way of his Cruciatus.

"Your worst nightmare." He said with a sly grin as he hit the man with an acid spurt before a body bind.

The man fell to the ground and yelled in agony. Harry silenced him with 'Silencio'.

The other three attacked at the same time, all three threw their different curses at him. Harry effortlessly brought up his shield allowing the blue bubble to absorb the three curses.

"No!" Nott said with fear as he backed away from Harry. He had only seen one wizard do that before; only one powerful wizard could bring up a shield that covered him from head to foot.

Harry grinned again, enjoying himself immensely.

"Tell him I said hi." Harry joked, bringing down his shield and hitting him with a body bind. "Oh, wait, I'm not going to let you remember me, shame really!" Harry said with a cruel grin as the man struggled in his binds.

The other two Death Eaters were trying to free the two on the ground but before they could Harry had knocked both out, one with a curse the other with a kick to the head.

Harry looked at the ground, at the four men, two awake and struggling and two knocked out cold. He calmly walked over to the three people still trapped in the car. With a wave of his hand, the foul smelling petrol was gone. Harry reached over and unlocked the car. The three people struggled out, taking in deep breaths of air and still choking on their tears.

"Thanks you! Oh, thank you! You saved our lives! Thank you so much!" the woman said as she hugged Harry tightly.

The pink faced girl with two ponytails stared at Harry with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"H-Harry!" she stuttered as she recognised the dark haired boy.

Harry smiled at her. He knew he had seen her before. Now that he looked at her closely he knew she was a student of Hogwarts. He had no idea what her name was but he seemed to remember her with a Hufflepuff scarf around her neck. She had always looked at him shyly and nervously.

"Yeah, it's me." Harry replied.

"How did you…? You look so…? You're so…different." she said with awe.

Harry laughed but didn't answer her.

"Harry Potter! It's an honour." Mrs Abbott said as she shook his hand, hers still trembling.

Harry didn't know how to respond to that so he stayed quiet.

"What is going to happen to them?" the dark haired man asked, gesturing to the men on the ground.

"Don't worry about them." Harry answered.

"Harry, you have to contact the Aurors, they'll come and get them." the girl said at once, looking at the men with a mixture of fear and hate.

"It's okay, Hannah. They'll get what they deserve." Mrs Abbott said.

"Don't worry about them." Harry repeated again. He had the perfect punishment planned for them. "You should go; your car's fixed so you can leave."

"Thank you! I can't thank you enough." Hannah's dad said with a handshake again.

Harry waited until they were inside the car, his insides twisting with regret at what he was about to do. 'There's no other way!' he told himself. They couldn't remember this incident; it wouldn't do him any good.

The Abbott family sat inside their car, smiling at him. When the car was started but refused to move, the man looked up at Harry.

"It's still not working. I think the spell might still be in place." He said, looking at his wife and daughter.

"That spell is lifted, but I have one left to do." Harry muttered drawing his wand. With regret he took aim.

The alarm on their faces made Harry's stomach clench painfully.

"Harry! What…what are you doing!?" Hannah cried in panic.

"I'm sorry." Harry said and he really meant it. "Obliviate!" he yelled and the spell hit the three occupants in the car. The inside of the car glowed for a minute before it faded. Harry moved back towards the shadows, hiding from their eyes. He lifted the spell on the car and the vehicle roared to life and sped away before the man behind the wheel realised where he was. Harry saw the car swerve before the driver took control and the vehicle sped away before rounding a corner and was out of sight.

Harry knew it was necessary but he hated casting the memory spell. It reminded him too much of his lost memories at the hands of Voldemort. He reassured himself that his need was very different to Voldemort's. He couldn't afford attention of those sorts. He reckoned that the Abbott family most likely didn't want to remember their horrific near death incident anyway.

A moan behind him brought his attention to the four Death Eaters on the ground. He smirked, now removing their memories was something Harry felt no guilt about, whatsoever.

xxx

It was a few days before Harry heard anything about that particular night being mentioned. Harry overheard Moody talking with Sirius.

"…when the investigators got there, there was no sign of anyone. There were definite alerts of magic being done in a muggle inhabited area but no sign of any duel was found."

Sirius looked bored.

"Maybe they got the wrong location, or it was just a few wizards pranking the Ministry." He idly suggested.

"Or maybe whoever was responsible is a lot better at cleaning up. The alerts showed that powerful duel took place. There were more than three lots of magic performed. But nothing was damaged and no sign of any magic performed was left." Moody said taking a swig from his own flask. "And here is the thing, I spoke to Snape. He said that four Death Eaters were sent on a mission on that same night and they came back not only without completing it but with no memory of what happened. Needless to say, their _Master_ wasn't pleased. Snape said no one had ever been punished quite as severely as those four." Moody said.

Harry grinned mentally. Wiping their memory clean and then sending them back to Voldemort _was_ the perfect punishment for those Death Eaters.

Sirius perked up a bit but still looked doubtful. "I wouldn't believe what Snape has to say. He could be making it all up. And in any case, why is it a big deal if nothing was damaged?" Sirius asked.

"There were no signs of damage but that doesn't mean there _was_ no damage. We have to be vigilant! If what Snape said is true then it's possible the magic performed in the muggle area was the result of the Death Eaters attempting their mission but something stopped them. Or more importantly, someone stopped them."

Harry fought the urge to fidget and strained to hear the rest of the conversation.

"If there is a new player in this war, then we should know about it. Unknown allies can still be dangerous." Moody said and Sirius agreed with him.

The two Order members continued discussing the topic but Harry zoned out. He knew that he had to be more careful. He couldn't attract any more attention to himself than he was already getting. He would have to watch his steps more carefully.

He realised with disdain, that he couldn't go out as Alex as much as he had originally planned. It was risky and he would have to resist the urge to go out as much as was possible.

Harry hoped the compass worked on Sunday, that way he could go back to his life and get away from this miserable place where he couldn't even go out and have fun for a few hours.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please Review! Thanks!!


	11. The Black Tomb

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Sorry about any typos or mistakes. I've done this in a hurry!! Enjoy!!

**Chapter Eleven**

**_AU World_**

The weekend arrived and with it came Harry's first meeting with this world's Hermione. Harry was excited to meet her, to see what she was like in this world. He joined Ron, Damien and Ginny as they made their way to Hogsmeade to meet up with her.

When they walked into the Three Broomsticks, Harry saw the differences in the pub straight away. It looked a lot newer, like it had been recently renovated. He saw the pub owner, Madame Rosmerta look up at him as he entered and she smiled broadly at him.

"Welcome, Mr Potter! This is a nice surprise!" she said, coming around to personally shake hands with him.

"Erm, yes, it's nice to see you too." He politely replied confused as to why he got such a warm welcome.

"This way, Harry." Ron said and he led him to a table near the back.

Harry spotted Hermione sitting at one of the tables, reading the paper. Her bushy hair wasn't quite as wild as it was arranged in a French plait. She was dressed in muggle clothes and was currently engrossed in the paper.

Harry gaped at her, she looked amazing. This eighteen year old Hermione looked very different to the fifteen year old Harry had left behind in his world. Harry realised she was a very pretty girl. Of course, her transformation at the Yule Ball last year had already showed him that. She looked up as the group approached her. Her brown eyes met Harry and smiled at him.

"I was wondering where you lot were. You're late." She playfully admonished.

Harry was about to greet her but the words got caught up in his throat when he saw Ron approach Hermione and bend down to give her a kiss on the lips. It was a very light kiss but a kiss nonetheless.

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Ron was dating Hermione! He had noticed the tension between them last year, especially during the Yule Ball and the whole business of Viktor Krum asking Hermione out. He had suspected Ron was developing feelings for Hermione but he never thought he would see them going out with one another. It was just too bizarre to imagine.

"Harry"

Harry snapped out of his stupor as Ginny whispered to him. Hermione and Ron were staring at him, looking curious as to why he was gaping at them. Harry quickly sat down, averting his gaze to Damien who smiled cheekily as he sat down opposite him. He rolled his eyes towards Ron and Hermione and mouthed the words 'Forgot to mention'.

Harry gave Damien a funny look and sighed to himself. It seemed the boy 'forgot' to tell him quite a lot of things.

xxx

A few hours passed and all Harry did was listen to the group as they exchanged details of what was going on in their lives. Hermione talked enthusiastically of her projects. She went into detail about the Runes project and what her research entailed and what her primary objective was. It was a shame no one understood what she was on about.

Ron went through what the Healer training was like. Madame Pomfrey was a strict teacher, which wasn't all the surprising but she was a very good teacher. As far as Harry could tell, both his friends were in jobs they enjoyed. That knowledge made his feel satisfied and content.

"What about you?" Hermione asked Harry.

"What about me?" Harry asked in return.

"What are you planning on doing? You know with your N.E.W.T.S results, you could pretty much do anything!" the spark of pride in her eyes made Harry blush.

"Erm…"

"You could take on a project as well, if you want. There are plenty available." She suggested.

"Thanks, Hermione. But I think I'm just going to take things easy for now." Harry replied.

Hermione's expression changed and a look of understanding and empathy took over her.

"I understand, Harry. What with the happenings of last year, you really do need time to recover."

Harry was confused, but before he could form any answer to Hermione or ask her what she meant, Ginny and Damien both jumped in.

"We have to go!" Ginny said pulling Harry up.

"Yeah, mum and dad wanted to spend some time with Harry as well. It's the first weekend at Hogwarts and all." Damien said getting up as well.

"Oh, okay. I'll catch you guys later then." Hermione said, looking a little disappointed with the early departure.

Ron stayed with his girlfriend while the other three made their way outside.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked as they started walking away from the pub.

"Oh, it's nothing. Harry had a really bad year last year, what with all the drugging and addiction and that. Hermione was just talking about that." Damien said, he was telling the truth, sort off.

Harry nodded his head but knew that there was more to this than he was being told. Ginny and Damien had shot out of their chairs, almost like they didn't want Hermione to say anything more.

"Do you want to go back up to the castle?" Ginny asked.

"Not really. Do you have any other suggestions?" Damien asked.

"Well, we can't hang out around here. If Ron and Hermione see us it'll get awkward. Let's go further into Hogsmeade. I heard there is a really good pub and sweet shop a few streets from here. We can walk or take the floo. What do you guys want to do?" Ginny asked.

"Floo. I'm too tired to walk." Damien said.

"Why are you tired? You haven't done anything but sit all day." Harry said.

"That's why I'm tired. Too much rest can tire you out." Damien replied.

Harry and Ginny shared a look before laughing. Damien led them to the post office. The owls were busy flying around, delivering mail, parcels, special deliveries and Harry noted some poor individuals had Howlers coming their way.

Tucked away in the corner was a small fireplace. It had the word 'FLOO' written at the top. Damien walked over to it and grabbed the bag filled with floo powder. He offered it to Ginny first.

"You go ahead and we'll follow." He told her.

Ginny took a fistful of powder before stepping into the fireplace. She threw the powder into the fire and yelled out the name of the pub.

"Jumping Jacks!" she said and a second later she was gone in a swirl of green flames.

"You next, Harry." Damien said as he offered Harry the bag.

Harry hated the floo, the last time he had travelled by the floo, he had gotten lost. Hoping he had better luck this time, he took a fistful of powder and stepped inside.

He threw down the powder and scrunched his eyes shut against the flying ash. He opened his mouth to say the name and instead swallowed some smoke and ash. Coughing and spluttering he shouted the name.

"Ju-Jump…ugh! Jumpin Jacks!" he spluttered, coughing like crazy.

The green swirl engulfed him, making his dizzy. He felt like he was hurtling through space and time. Finally he fell to the ground and he suppressed his groan at hitting the floor so hard.

He stood up and brushed off his robes, looking around at his location.

"This can't be right." He muttered as he saw where he was. He was surrounded by long benches. He looked behind him and saw a large stage with purple curtains hanging at either side. Harry realised he was in a theatre.

"Great, messed up again!" Harry scolded himself. He had meant to say Jumping Jacks not _Jumpin_ Jacks. He had come to the wrong place. He looked around the small fireplace he had come through but couldn't find any floo powder to go back.

Harry wondered out of the theatre, surprised to find the place empty. He realised it was too early for it to be open. After finding the doors closed and locked, he climbed out of the building using the windows.

Harry sighed with relief as he squeezed out of the window and jumped to the ground. He was glad to get out of there. He looked around him and was relieved to see that he was still in Hogsmeade. He could see part of the Hogwarts castle in the distance. Harry looked around him and realised that although this was Hogsmeade, it was a part that he had never seen before. Intrigued, Harry began to walk, taking in the buildings and shops around him. Harry was looking for another post office, or any other building that had a floo system that took him to Jumping Jacks.

Soon Harry found he had wondered into the residential part of Hogsmeade. The streets were lined with mostly houses. A few shops were scattered about in the midst of the lovely cottages.

Harry was just about to turn back and go in the other direction when he caught sight of a strange monument. It was placed in the middle of a clearing. Stone steps were leading upwards, to a stone platform. Harry walked over to the steps, his eyes fixed on the black marble tomb sitting proudly on top of the platform.

Harry squinted in the sunlight to read the name on the headstone. He walked a few steps further and then suddenly stopped. He stood frozen in numbed terror as he saw his own name engraved on the black tomb.

_Harry James Potter._

His name glistened in the light, sparkling like jewels against the smooth black marble. Harry felt bile rise in this throat. What was going on? Why was there a tomb build with his name on it?

As if in answer to his questions, his eyes caught sight of a plaque, at the bottom of the steps. Harry slowly walked over to it, his feet feeling strangely heavy. Harry stood before the plaque and read the printed words again and again, to try and make sense of them.

'_**This tomb remains here, on the grounds of Hogsmeade, to mark the end to the reign of terror of Lord Voldemort. This tomb with our saviour's name on it remains here to remind us all of what could have happened and how close we all came to losing the Chosen one; Harry James Potter, without whom, the Dark Lord could never have been defeated.'**_

Harry felt the words swim in his mind. The Harry of this world was the one who defeated Voldemort! He was the 'Chosen one'. Harry remembered Damien mentioning the words before to him. He had also mentioned a prophecy, something that pointed to Harry as being the 'Chosen one'.

Damien hadn't told him what the prophecy had said but it must have been about Voldemort. That was why the words 'Chosen one' appeared here, on this plague. His eyes travelled up to the tomb again and he shivered involuntarily.

He was so caught up with the tomb, he never heard Damien's calls of 'Harry!' until he was right behind him. Harry turned on the spot and looked at Damien. The hazel eyed boy was looking straight at Harry, his gaze fixed stubbornly on him, almost like he was forcing himself to not look at the tomb.

"Damien? What…what is this?" Harry asked, his voice choked and heavy.

"Harry, I…I can't explain here. Let's go. I'll tell you everything but please, we have to go from here." Damien said, careful not to look at the tomb in front of him.

Harry walked away with Damien, giving into his pleas. But he was adamant that he was going to talk to Damien about the tomb. He wanted to know why the tomb was here and what exactly did the other Harry do to defeat Voldemort?

xxx

Harry had to wait until they were back at Hogwarts and in the Room of Requirement before he got an explanation. Damien had first gone to Jumping Jacks and told Ginny they had to leave before all three headed back to Hogwarts. Ginny decided she didn't need to hear Damien explain the black tomb, so she took her leave, letting the two boys sit in awkward silence.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell that was?" Harry asked, his heart still beating heavily.

Damien looked at Harry and decided that he wasn't going to lie this time. It was too difficult to lie, to difficult to remember the lies and frankly, he didn't _want_ to lie anymore. Keeping his brother's instructions still in mind, Damien started to explain.

"Okay, I'll tell you but you have to keep quiet until I finish. Don't interrupt, okay?"

Harry nodded his head, his eyes fixed on Damien. With a sigh, Damien began.

"What you saw was a threat made to Harry's life by Voldemort. I told you that Harry was the Chosen one. He was the one that a prophecy indicated was the only one who can kill Voldemort." Damien paused as he saw the colour drain from Harry's face. He could see the worried thoughts run in his mind. "This might just be in this world. Your world may not have had that prophecy." He quickly added.

Harry swallowed heavily and nodded. Damien continued.

"That tomb was build as a warning to Harry, to let him know that Voldemort was after his blood. Dad had literally locked Harry in the Manor. He couldn't go out alone or do anything that could allow Death Eaters to get to him. The tomb really freaked dad out, it's understandable." Damien muttered and Harry agreed.

Damien fell quiet after that, prompting Harry to speak.

"The plague said that Harry was the one who defeated Voldemort. Is that true?" Harry asked.

Tensely, Damien nodded his head.

"Yeah, it's true." He said quietly.

Harry was stunned into silence.

"Why didn't you mention it before? The fact that Voldemort was killed by…by Harry?" Harry asked.

"It's a difficult thing to talk about. We never talk about it. That day was…was, awful." Damien said, shuddering with the memory of seeing his brother tortured and close to death.

Harry saw the shudder and misunderstood.

"I guess you're right. No matter who it is, murder is murder." He said.

Damien's head snapped up at that.

"What?" he asked, not believing Harry would have the nerve to say such a thing.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't blame Harry. I hate Voldemort. He took everything away from me. But I can understand Harry's reluctance to talk about killing Voldemort. It can't be easy to rest with a death on your conscience, even if it is the snake faced bastard's."

Damien looked at Harry with a frown.

"Snake faced?"

"Yeah, you know, Voldemort? He looks like a snake? Red eyed and a slit for a nose?" Harry offered but saw the look of confusion deepen on Damien.

"Um, he didn't look like that in this world." Damien said suppressing a shudder.

"Really? What did he look like?" Harry asked, unable to keep the curiosity at bay.

"He just looked, normal. I mean except for the red eyes but the rest of him was pretty normal. Dark haired, tall, he was actually quite good looking." Damien explained.

Harry remembered the dark haired, handsome Tom Riddle and nodded his head. He could imagine an older Tom Riddle and was loathed to admit it, but yes, he would have been quite good looking.

"He's still a snake at heart." Harry said.

"Agree with you with that one!" Damien said, forcing a tired smile on his face.

The boys lapsed into silence for a few minutes.

"What was this prophecy exactly? Who made it? What did it say?" Harry asked.

"I don't know who it was made by but it basically says a boy born at the end of July will be the one who to vanquish the Dark Lord. It specifies who the child could be and Harry fit that description."

Harry nodded his head, taking in all this information.

"That's why mum and dad sent Harry away, to train him so he could fight against Voldemort and survive. That makes sense now." Harry said.

Damien didn't say anything but dropped his gaze.

"And it makes sense why everyone is afraid of Harry. I was wondering why everyone was so fearful of him, now I understand why." Harry continued, glad to solve part of the mystery that surrounded this world's Harry. "His defeat of Voldemort must have both impressed and frightened them."

"You can say that again." Damien muttered to himself.

xxx

Damien was thankful when Sunday finally arrived. The week had taken a lot out of him, especially his talk with Harry. He was grateful that Ginny knew the truth. It was one less person to worry about. Ginny, for her part, was a great help. She didn't harass Damien or keep worrying out loud about how her Harry was going to return. Other than the first day, she didn't freak out at all. She was worried and anxious though but then again so was Damien.

Ginny was the one who made it possible for Damien and Harry to get to the compass. As the golden compass was still locked away in Harry's drawer back at Potter Manor, the boys needed to get to the Manor without anyone noticing. Damien didn't even want to try and pretend that he had forgotten something. He was sure his mum would go berserk if he used that excuse.

So he was relieved when Ginny offered to apparate him and Harry to Potter Manor. The three met outside the gates of Hogwarts early Sunday morning and Ginny quickly took a hold of Harry and Damien before appartaing to the Manor.

As soon as they arrived, Damien and Ginny ran to Harry's room, eager to get the compass and make the swap. Harry stayed downstairs, trying not to let his reluctance at leaving show. He looked around the living room, taking the minutes he had left to memorise his parent's faces and their life in this dimension. He walked around the room slowly, observing all the framed pictures. He spotted the dark haired, green eyed baby and knew that was Harry. The hazel eyed and slightly chubbier baby was Damien.

As Harry looked at the pictures closely he realised something. The pictures around him were mostly of Damien. The photos were of him at various ages. There were pictures of him as a baby, a toddler, a five year old riding his toy broomstick, a ten year old posing with Sirius and Remus and an eleven year old in his Hogwarts robes, Lily teary eyed kissing and hugging him.

But the photos of Harry were only his baby photos. There were no photos of him growing up. Harry wondered what the reason for that could be. He knew that Harry had stayed away from his family went he went on his training but that must have been when he was a lot older. Harry couldn't see a young child sent away for years and years on a training programme, even if it was in order to destroy Voldemort.

Harry heard Damien and Ginny walk back inside, talking quietly. He turned to see Damien carrying the wooden box and carefully place it on the table. He opened it and took out the compass, his fingers handling the golden compass with care.

"Damien, why are there no photos of Harry growing up?" Harry asked.

Damien stilled, his back turned to Harry. He shared a quick look with Ginny, who looked at him with a lost expression.

"We did have photos of him but we lost them in the fire." He said.

"Fire?" Harry asked with a frown.

Damien turned to look at him.

"Yeah, we had a fire at our old house; it destroyed quite a lot of things, including childhood pictures of Harry and me. The ones you see here are the only ones left." Damien lied easily.

Harry seemed to believe him and he turned to look at the pictures again. Damien caught Ginny looking at him with a stern look, shaking her head at him. Damien ignored her.

"Okay, here it goes." Damien said, focusing the attention away from the photos and back to the compass.

Harry sighed mentally, 'yeah, here I go.' He thought to himself miserably. He knew he was being greedy but he couldn't care less. He wanted to stay with his parents for a little while longer. But knowing that that wasn't possible, he reached out and took the compass.

Ginny and Damien were staring at him with barely hidden excitement. Harry forced to smile at them before he took a hold of the compass. He slid the two rings as he was showed before and waited.

The five hands swung around madly, making Harry's heart several beats. The compass glowed before it shuddered and died down. The hands stopped and froze, again in the north position. Harry waited for something to happen.

Nothing happened.

Harry waited a minute or two but when the compass failed to react he looked up at Damien and Ginny, fighting to hide his relief.

The two didn't look happy at all.

"Not again! This should have worked! I don't get it, what's wrong with this stupid thing!?" Damien said, snatching the compass from Harry.

"Damien, careful! That stupid thing is the only thing that can bring Harry back. Don't break it!" Ginny said taking the compass from him and holding it like a fragile item.

Damien glowered at the compass.

"It already is broken! It's not working! What am I supposed to do now?"

Ginny looked at him pointedly. Damien took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. He hoped Harry was in a good mood.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry was not in a good mood. He stabbed at his food moodily, moving it from one corner of the plate to the other. He couldn't believe the compass didn't work this time. He was certain a week was enough time to let the compass recoup its magical energy. However, it seemed the compass needed more time. Harry didn't know what to tell Damien, other than to let the compass stay in the wooden box and not to touch it. The fact that it had reacted al little, gave Harry a reason to believe that maybe it needed more time to regenerate the required energy. A week was clearly not enough time for it to regenerate itself. Harry had begrudgingly told Damien to give the compass a few more weeks, perhaps even a month.

To say Damien took the news bad was an understatement. Harry understood his dilemma. He had to keep the other Harry under cover for a month. That couldn't be easy. At least he had Ginny with him now, that was some consolation. Harry was stuck in this world alone, with no one knowing his true origin. He was all alone and had to fight against his natural instincts to survive here as the other Harry.

"Harry, dear, are you okay? Is your food cold? Do you want me to heat it up again?"

Harry clenched his teeth hard. 'Honestly, that woman is going to be the death of me, or the death of herself soon!' Harry told himself as he looked up at Mrs Weasley.

"I'm fine." He ground out and then forced a spoonful of mashed potato into his mouth to make the woman stop staring.

He didn't know how he was going to survive here for a month. He hoped he made it and more importantly, everyone else around him.

xxx

A few weeks went by in the same dull, boring way. The only enjoyment Harry got was when he left the Headquarters as Alex and had some fun. That was the only way he could release his pent up frustration. As a result, his fighting was more brutal and intense, making him more money than ever before. Harry used the money for some decent clothes, he was sick of transfiguring the rags the other Harry owned. Of course he couldn't but anything too expensive as Hermione would notice and question them.

One morning Harry woke up and found a letter waiting for him. He groaned when he saw the familiar green ink and insignia of Hogwarts; it was Harry's fifth year Hogwarts letter.

"Harry, wake up. Our letters are here." Ron pointed out helpfully.

Harry sat up in his bed and reached for his letter. He opened it to show Ron but didn't bother reading it. He tossed it aside and got up from his bed.

Fred and George appeared, making witty remarks about Ron which both Harry and Ron ignored. The red haired boy was pulling out his Hogwarts letter when something small and scarlet fell out of it and hit the ground.

The twins were quick to snatch it from the ground.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here George." Fred said tossing the item to his twin.

George caught it and looked closely at it.

"Blimey! Is it what I fear? Do we have another one? Is the curse not lifted?" the boy mocked.

"Give it here!" snapped Ron as he swiped the scarlet badge from his brother. Harry watched, amused by how red the boy could go. The tips of his ears were camouflaged with his red hair.

"Aww, little Ronnykins is a Prefect! How perfectly horrid!" the twins laughed.

Ron turned a shade brighter but Harry could clearly see the shock on him. He was clearly not expecting that badge in his letter.

"I never thought…I assumed it would be, be…" he trailed off but looked pointedly at Harry.

'No freaking way!' Harry thought to himself but he audibly replied, "I guess they preferred you."

The door to their room was smashed open and a wild haired Hermione came running into the room. She was clutching a letter and an identical scarlet badge in her hand. Her eyes first settled on Harry but then seeing his hands were empty, she looked over at Ron. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she spotted the badge in his hands.

"Ron?! You got the Prefect badge? But I thought Harry would've been the one…? I don't understand." She exclaimed.

Harry watched quietly as Ron turned to her, insulted and annoyed.

"It says my name on the letter, Hermione."

"I'm sorry, I just assumed…but that's great, Ron! I'm really happy for you." She said, a smile brightening her face.

Mrs Weasley followed in, carrying fresh laundry and was told about her son becoming a prefect almost instantly. Before she could start shrieking in happiness, Harry quickly disappeared downstairs. The last thing he wanted to hear early in the morning was Mrs Weasley's excited voice.

xxx

Harry was confused about what he should do. His letter had arrived today. The first of September was tomorrow and Harry had to decide what he was going to do. He didn't want to go to Hogwarts. He hadn't seen the Dumbledore of this world yet and had no desire to see him either. But on the other hand, if he didn't go it would be suspicious and he didn't want anyone looking too closely at him.

Harry spent most of the day thinking about what he should do. If he didn't go to the school, he would attract too much notice. Dumbledore would want to know why Harry was missing and where he was. Harry knew that he couldn't stay at the Headquarters; he would have to leave and go somewhere else.

On the other hand, if he went to Hogwarts he would attract no attention from anyone. He didn't worry about the other Dumbledore noticing him. Dumbledore posed no threat to him; he was not naïve, unlike the other Harry, to fall for Dumbledore's manipulations. Harry could easily deal with the Headmaster and keep him at bay. It may even by fun to see Dumbledore and mess with him, discreetly of course.

Harry decided at last that he was going to go along to Hogwarts for the time being. He really didn't have any other option, other than going missing or revealing his true identity and origin.

xxx

That evening was the worst yet. Harry was mot amused when a small party was held in Ron and Hermione's honour for being named Prefects. Harry was sure he had not seen anything quite as pathetic. A party for being named Prefects? Really, what was the big deal?

Most of the Order members had gathered for the party and Harry made an effort to avoid Moody. He could see him looking at him, well, one of his eyes looking at him but Harry always went in the opposite direction.

But at one point, the Auror caught up with him.

"Got something to show you." He said as he reached into his pocket.

On reflex, Harry's hand went for his wand. He stopped himself from pulling it out when he saw Moody pull out a photograph.

"I thought you might like to see this." Moody went on as he handed the photo to Harry.

Harry saw a group of people standing, posing for the picture. He knew what he was looking at. The presence of his parents, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and the Longbottoms was a dead giveaway.

"The original Order of the Phoenix." Harry whispered as he stared at the faces of the James and Lily belonging in this universe.

"Correct." Moody said as he looked approvingly at Harry.

Harry suddenly felt he had enough of this party. He excused himself and slipped out quietly. As he headed for his room, he thought back to the photo. His parents were dead in this universe. It was a strange thing to come to terms with since he knew he would be with them when he finally went home. Still the thought of them not being here made Harry's stomach turn. He would never admit it, but he missed them. He chastised himself for feeling like this but that didn't make him stop missing them.

Harry was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of whimpering. He stopped in his tracks. The sound was coming from the drawing room. He instinctively turned and rushed towards it.

When he walked inside he saw a very strange sight, one that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand. Lying on the floor, in a spread eagled position, was the dead body of Ron. Harry didn't understand what happened but he was staring at the corpse of Ron Weasley. But how was this possible? He had seen Ron, only seconds ago, enjoying his party downstairs. How could he be here as well?

In answer to Harry's unspoken question, the body changed and he saw the corpse of Fred instead. Understanding hit home and Harry almost laughed in relief. It was only a Boggart. He looked around the room and found the huddled and sobbing form of Molly Weasley, her wand shaking in her hand as she tried to get rid of the Boggart.

"R-R-Riddi- Riddikulus!" she choked but the only thing that happened to the Boggart was that it changed form again and Harry saw the dead body of Arthur Weasley blood dribbling out from the corner of his mouth.

That was what broke the woman and she dropped her wand in anguish, crying hysterically, her face hidden in her hands.

Harry brought out his wand and pointed it at the Boggart, just as it started changing form.

"Riddikulus!" Harry said clearly and the Boggart popped like a balloon does.

But Harry saw the form it took right before it was forced back into a small cabinet and locked. Arthur had changed into Harry. Molly was afraid of Harry dying just like the rest of her family. The revelation made Harry's heart skip a beat. He looked at the broken woman on the ground, sobbing hard and rocking herself, repeating 'no, no please, no'.

Harry couldn't leave her like that so went over to her. He kneeled before her and awkwardly put a hand on her shaking shoulder.

"Mrs Weasley? Mrs Weasley, it's okay now. It's only a Boggart, it's gone now." Harry said as gently as he could.

The red haired woman looked up at Harry before her gaze drifted over to where the Boggart had been tormenting her. She cried even harder surprising Harry.

"Mrs Weasley, everything's fine. Don't cry…" Harry was wishing he hadn't come upstairs. He couldn't stand crying woman. He couldn't comfort them. He didn't know how to. He looked to the door, hoping someone would come in and take over, but no one came to rescue Harry and he was stuck with the sobbing woman.

To Harry's relief, Mrs Weasley finally calmed down and she wiped at her face.

"I'm sorry, H-Harry dear. You, you shouldn't have…have seen that." She apologised through her hiccoughs. "It's just…with, with _him_ back and this war; I just don't know what's going to happen! I know it's foolish of me but I can't stop worrying about everyone, about Arthur and my kids and you, especially you and Percy's not talking to us and I sometimes think what would happen if something was to happen to one of us, how would Percy deal with that and I…I'm sorry!" she burst into fresh tears.

Harry moved so he was sitting next to the crying woman. He draped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back, the way his mum had done to him when he had been unwell. It was the only comforting gesture he could remember.

"This is war, Mrs Weasley." Harry spoke in a quiet, yet firm voice, making the woman look up at him. "In war, there are bound to be casualties. If you are going to stand against Voldemort, you have to be ready to lose those around you because chances are, you will lose them."

Mrs Weasley gaped at him, red rimmed eyes widened with pain at his words.

"But that doesn't mean you have to break down over it. Crying won't stop Voldemort, it will lead him on. This is what he does; he drives power from your tears. Don't let him win." Harry whispered the last part. "If you fear the safety of your family and friends, then encourage them to learn to defend themselves. Don't lock them out of the meetings; let them be a part of it. Your family is young but they are old enough to understand that they are living in a world where the second war is about to break out. The more they know, the more they can prepare for. Don't delude yourself that they have a childhood to live through, their childhood was finished when Voldemort came back."

Mrs Weasley stared at Harry. She swallowed back her tears and gently touched his cheek.

"You're right, I should involve them more." She admitted. "I just wanted them to enjoy the little time that is left before the war really starts. I can't bear to think of children in this war, it's not right." She said emotionally.

Harry smiled sadly at that.

"War rarely ever is." He said quietly think about his past.

xxx

The next day was chaotic at Grimmauld Place. No one was ready on time and Mrs Weasley was trying frantically to get everyone ready and out. She was yelling at the twins to hurry up, picking up Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, from the floor so it wouldn't get trampled, shouting at Ron for asking where his scarf was and all in all working herself up in a right bother.

She saw Ginny dragging her trunk down the stairs with difficulty and hurried to giver her a hand.

"Mum, where's my broom? I can't find it!" George asked running behind her.

"I know where it is, I'll get it." Ginny said running back up the stairs, George following her.

Mrs Weasley grabbed her trunk, intending to put it with the rest of the luggage. It was quite heavy for her to manage alone and she struggled with it. Huffing and gasping she pulled the trunk towards the door. The old carpets and rugs made the job more difficult and she came to a point where she had to lift the trunk to get it over the rug. She struggled with it, not able to lift the heavy trunk.

Suddenly a hand stopped her and she looked up to see Harry. He smiled at her, a very different smile than the ones he flashed her these last few days, and without saying a word to her, he lifted the trunk, taking the weight away from her completely. Mrs Weasley watched in surprise as Harry lifted the heavy trunk with no problems and easily carried it over to join the rest of the trunks.

She smiled at him. Since he arrived at Grimmauld place this summer, looking and acting so differently, this was the first time she saw a part of the old Harry. The smile he had given her just now and his helpful gesture made her heart skip lightly. She loved Harry, just like she loved Ron and the rest of her kids. Her conversation with him last night had initially scared her. Harry seemed so grown up when he talked about war. But she reasoned that Harry was never really a child. He was forced to grow up quickly with his muggle relatives, they never pampered him or loved him the way a child should. Therefore Harry was bound to have a grown up view on life and especially war.

xxx

Harry waited for the rest to join him. He still couldn't believe he was heading for Hogwarts. He turned around to see the rest assemble next to him, a shaggy black dog was accompanying them, much to Mrs Weasley's chagrin.

Sirius in his animagus form bounded up the street and chased his own tail, making the rest of them laugh. Harry looked over at Mrs Weasley and saw that even she was fighting a smile at the sight.

Harry realised last night that the woman was not being unbearable on purpose. She was just a scared mother and wife who couldn't bear the thought of losing those she loved. He felt uncomfortable knowing he had upset her with his cold behaviour especially as he saw that she feared the safety of him as well as her husband and children.

He was distracted by Sirius again as he chased pigeons and barked in delight as they flew in fright. Harry smiled at the sight and realised that he won't get a chance to see this world's Sirius again. Hopefully the compass would work by next week, as that would complete the four weeks, and Harry would finally go home. At least he hoped so anyway. A week in Hogwarts was enough for him to bear, the only thing he was looking forward to was Dumbledore and his shock at seeing this new Harry.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, that's all for now. I'll see you all in two months. I leave tomorrow and come back late April so my next update will probably be early May. Please review all three chapters as I have worked really hard on completing these three for you guys before I go. I have to go now, and finish the packing I've been neglecting!!

Take care of yourselves!!

Cheers!!


	12. Meetings on the Express

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Hi everyone! I'm back and with a new chapter! A massive thank you to everyone who reviewed and a special thanks to those who sent me PM's. It was great to come back to them.

After the two months break, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!

**Chapter Twelve**

**_AU World_**

Harry woke up with a start. He sat up in his bed trying not to think about the nightmare he had just had. Since he had come to this new universe, this was the first time he had dreamt about Cedric's death. The recollection of what had happened at the graveyard made Harry break into a sweat. He couldn't get the memory of Cedric's dead body, sprawled on the grass, out of his mind.

Harry quickly got out of his bed and headed to the bathroom. He let the washbasin fill with cold water before plunging his face into it. The cold water felt great on his sweat soaked skin. When he pulled out of the water and stared at his reflection he noticed the angry red scar on his forehead.

Nervously, Harry ran a hand over his hair, pushing it over his scar, attempting to hide the mark that Voldemort had given him. His scar prickled with pain making Harry's heart beat faster. Why was his scar hurting? He was in a different universe than Voldemort. The world he was in didn't have a Voldemort anymore. So why was his scar hurting?

He deduced that the dream must have caused his scar to play up. Remembering how Voldemort had been reborn and the torture he inflicted made his scar throb with pain. Harry thought back to a few nights ago, he had been dreaming, just normal silly dreams, when he suddenly dreamt that he was walking along a darkened long corridor. He felt like he was walking for hours when he at last reached the end and stood before a door. But when he reached for the door he found it locked. Just as he twisted the doorknob and found that it wouldn't budge, he woke up. His scar had prickled uncomfortably then as well, but Harry didn't understand why. He thought that the dream was just his inner feelings about being trapped in another world. He wasn't upset at being effectively trapped in this alternate universe. Truth was he was glad. He wasn't alone in this world. He had a family and a home, a proper home, and no matter how confused he was at times, he found he was comfortable here

Harry pushed himself away from the mirror and headed back to his room. He tried to go back to sleep but he couldn't settle. He soon gave up and got up to sit on the edge of the bed. The memory of Cedric's death was still lurking at the back of his mind, trying to force its way through his consciousness. Harry fought to keep himself from remembering what had happened at the graveyard. Suddenly Harry realised something, he didn't have to fight with himself to stop the memory. He wasn't locked in his room; he wasn't surrounded by people that didn't care about him. He could distract himself by walking outside his room and talking to his parents. He had someone to turn to here.

Feeling like his heart could explode with relief; Harry got up and headed out of his room. It was only when he was standing in front of his dad's door that it occurred to him that it was late in the night and his dad was probably asleep. Just as he turned to go back, he caught the sound of voices coming from the room. His dad was awake and was with company. Harry tentatively knocked on his dad's door.

A moment later the door opened and Harry faced a surprised looking James.

"Harry? What's wrong?" James asked, concern showing in his hazel eyes.

A warm feeling spread down Harry's stomach.

"Nothing. I couldn't sleep. I thought I would see if you were still up." Harry answered.

James moved to let Harry come in. As soon as he stepped inside, he regretted it. Standing beside the large fireplace, dressed in blue robes, stood the Headmaster of the school, Professor Dumbledore. Harry halted in his steps and stared at the wizard. He had very carefully avoided meeting or talking to the Headmaster, up until now.

The white haired wizard inclined his head a fraction and greeted Harry.

"Evening, Harry."

Harry moved towards the sofa, carefully avoiding looking at the wizard.

"Evening" he returned.

Dumbledore turned to speak to James.

"We should continue our discussion some other time. I should take my leave. Good night."

With that the Headmaster was gone, not looking back at anyone. James closed the door and sat down next to Harry, wearily running a hand through his hair. Harry had learnt that his dad only did this when he was anxious or worried.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine." James said, not at all convincingly. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if warding off a headache.

"You don't look like you're okay. Did something happen? Did…did Prof-Dumbledore say something?" Harry caught himself in time before calling Dumbledore, Professor.

James opened his eyes and replaced his glasses.

"No, Harry. He didn't say anything. I'm just tired." James said looking Harry in the eye.

"Oh, okay, I'll go then. Let you rest." Harry said at once, getting up to leave. Just because he couldn't sleep didn't mean he had to disrupt others too.

"Sit down, Harry. I want to talk to you about something." James said, sitting upright in his seat.

Harry sat back down, wondering what his dad wanted to talk to him about.

"I've noticed how much time you've been spending with me and your mum." James started. "While I'm glad to have more company with you, I'm a little concerned."

"Concerned?" Harry asked.

"Harry I know why you've been hanging out with us so much." James said, his eyes fixed to Harry.

"You…you do?" Harry asked, praying that his truth hadn't come out.

"You're bored. You don't have anything else to do, so you're spending your time with us." James said.

"Yeah, yeah, that's it, I'm bored." Harry said, quickly agreeing.

"I know that you're still against the idea of the Duelling teaching job, but you can do something else. With your grades, you can pretty much do anything. Have you thought about what you want to do?" James asked.

Harry had only ever thought about one job he would want to do after Hogwarts.

"How about becoming an Auror?" Harry tentatively asked.

James frowned at Harry.

"Very funny, Harry, real mature!" he scolded.

"I'm serious." Harry said, confused as to why his dad thought he was joking.

James got up from his seat and walked over to his desk.

"Fine, if you're not going to be serious about your future then we'll talk about something else." James said as he prepared two cups of tea.

Harry knew not to argue with his dad so he went with the topic change and spent the next hour chatting to James about other things. It was only the sound of a knock on the door that pulled them out of their discussion. James opened the door to see Sirius standing before him.

"You're late." James greeted.

"Sorry, got carried away." He smirked as he came inside.

Sirius flopped down on the sofa chairs. He brushed his dark locks away from his eyes and gave Harry a wide smile.

"Hey, Harry. How are you?" his Godfather asked him.

Harry smiled back.

"Fine, you?" he asked.

"Can't complain." Sirius smiled. "Well, I could but I won't." he added with his usual smirk.

Harry smiled at Sirius' comment. For the next few minutes he watched quietly as his dad and godfather talked among themselves. Watching this world's Sirius talk and joke around with James made him feel sorry for the Sirius he had left back in his own world. He could see how close the two friends were and for the first time he understood the manic gleam in Sirius' eyes when he was attacking Peter in the shrieking shack. Harry now understood the need for revenge Sirius had wasn't just for the twelve years he spent in Azkaban, but for the murder and betrayal of his friend.

"I got something for you." Sirius said, putting down his mug and reaching into his robes pocket. He pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it to James.

Harry watched as James opened the envelope and pulled out an official looking letter. Harry noticed the lines appear on James' forehead as he read through the letter. He was annoyed and it was proved the next moment when he crumpled the letter up in his fist and chucked it into the fire.

"Bad news?" Sirius asked.

James shrugged.

"He wants me to meet him this weekend." He said, taking a long sip from his mug.

"Are you going to go?" Sirius asked. James didn't answer but sat with his mug in hand. Harry was completely lost as to what they were discussing. "I say you should go to meet him. At least hear what he has to say." Sirius said.

"I already know what the Minister has to say." James answered and Harry could hear the deep underlay of anger in his dad's voice.

"Prongs, Minister Diggory isn't like Fudge." Sirius said quietly.

"I know, but I still don't want to see him. I know what he wants and I can't give it to him." James said.

Harry noticed James glance over at him and then quickly look away. Harry was trying to figure out what was going on. His dad was called to meet with the Minister but he was refusing. He didn't want to meet with the Minister because he knew the Minister wanted something from him, something James wasn't willing to give. But what could the Minister want? And could his dad really refuse the Minister for Magic?

"I think you should go to meet the Minister." Harry suddenly said his voice quiet but clear.

Both James and Sirius looked over at him, clearly taken aback.

"What?" James asked.

"If Minister Diggory wants to meet with you then maybe you should meet him." Harry said. He remembered Damien telling him that the previous Minister, Cornelius Fudge had a falling out with James but as far as Harry knew, the current Minister and his dad were on friendly terms.

"You _want_ me to meet with the Minister?" James asked, surprised.

"Just to see what he wants from you." Harry said.

James and Sirius' expressions relaxed. They shared a quick glance.

"I know what he wants." James said getting up from his seat.

"What?" asked Harry.

"He wants me to take back my resignation and resume the role of an Auror." James said, his back turned so Harry couldn't see his expression.

Harry waited for more but James didn't say anymore.

"You don't want to go back?" Harry asked.

"It's not that," James said turning around. "I loved being an Auror but after what happened…I can't think about returning to the Ministry after the way they acted."

Harry didn't say anything. He didn't know what the Ministry had done to upset his dad but whatever it was, it seemed big.

"Don't think about it too much, Harry, I'm not going back." James said, misunderstanding Harry's silence.

"I was just thinking, if you really loved being an Auror, maybe you should consider the offer to go back to being one." Harry answered honestly.

James stared at Harry as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"If I went back to being an Auror, you would be okay with that?" James asked.

"If it makes you happy." Harry answered sincerely.

James sat down, still staring at Harry.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked.

Harry fought down the wave of panic the words brought.

"Nothing, I just want you to be happy." Harry answered sincerely.

James didn't have a response to that.

xxx

"He actually said that?" Lily asked, forgetting the plate of food before her.

James nodded his head. He poked at the sausages with his fork but didn't bother eating them. Everyone else around them in the Great Hall was busy tucking into their breakfast and none were paying attention to Professors Potter.

"I never thought Harry would say that to you." Lily commented, shaking her head. "Are you sure he wasn't being sarcastic?"

James shook his head again.

"No, he was being genuine. He said that I should meet the Minister and go back to being an Auror if that makes me happy." James repeated.

Lily looked away from her husband and stared at her plate, deep in thought.

"Maybe he meant it." she said finally.

"Come off it, Lily! This is Harry we're talking about. He hates the Ministry and its Aurors. He would never tell me to join them again." James hissed at her.

"Then why would he say that to you?" Lily asked, her green eyes fixed to him.

James didn't answer right away. He turned to look at the Gryffindor table were both his sons were sitting, talking quietly amongst themselves. Ginny was sitting next to Damien and was listening intently to the two boys.

"There's something wrong with him." James said finally.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked quickly and somewhat defensively.

"Harry's been acting very strange. Ever since he came to Hogwarts this year, he's not been himself. Sometimes, I get the feeling he's not…I can't explain it. He's just not been his usual self."

Lily knew what James meant. She too had moments were she questioned if the boy before her was even her son at all. He was just so different, subdued, quiet and at times, nervous. Still, she was his mother; she could tell it was her Harry. She could _feel_ it.

"Look, maybe you're reading too much into this. Maybe Harry said that to you because he knows how much you loved being an Auror." Lily offered.

"I don't think so." James said, still keeping his eyes fixed to Harry.

"Look, James. Maybe he's finally opening up to us. He spends a lot more time with us than he used to. He's grown closer to us. He really wants you to be happy. I know for a fact that he felt responsible for your resignation in the first place. Maybe he's just trying to let you know that he won't hold it against you if you take your old job back." Lily explained.

James wanted to believe her, it was a comforting thought. He knew that his wife was content in thinking that Harry had changed for the better, that he had grown closer to them. But Lily didn't know Harry the way James knew him. James had seen first hand the rage and hate Harry had for Aurors, that doesn't change, no matter what.

James turned his gaze to Harry once again. Something was definitely not right. Harry was up to something and James was going to find out what it was, soon.

--

_**Canon World**_

The chaos at Platform nine and three quarters was like usual. Harry carried his trunk over, with a protesting Hedwig in her cage, up to the train. Sirius in his animagus form bounced up ahead of him. Mrs Weasley bid her goodbyes while Moody stood with his magical eye spinning in all directions, obviously looking for attackers. Harry kept hearing the name 'Sturgis' being mentioned by Moody and gathered that the Auror was supposed to have accompanied them but was missing. He didn't pay it much attention.

Just before boarding, Sirius leapt up to his hind legs and placed his front paws onto Harry's chest. Mrs Weasley was quick to swat him away.

"Act like a dog!" she hissed at the black bear like dog, while guiding Harry to the train.

Harry walked ahead, Ron and Hermione on either side. He noted a few students stare at him with confusion. He ignored them. He was going to get a lot of stares. He walked along the platform and onto the train with his usual grace, attracting even more attention.

As soon as they were inside the train, Ron and Hermione took their leave, explaining that they had to go to the Prefects compartment. Harry was left with Ginny.

"Come on." She said, walking down the corridor.

They looked through the glass panels of most of the compartments to see them full.

"Everywhere is full!" Ginny complained, pulling her trunk along with difficulty.

"Here" Harry said, taking the trunk's weight from her.

Ginny looked at Harry with surprise. She was about to protest but Harry motioned to her to keep walking. She turned and carried on walking along the corridor, shooting Harry questioning looks.

Just as they entered the last carriage, they ran into someone. Harry froze in his steps as the round faced, out of breath, boy faced him.

"Hi Ginny! Everywhere is full…! I can't find anywhere to sit!"

"What are you talking about Neville? This one is free, there's only Loony Lovegood in here." Ginny said, pointing to the compartment behind the boy.

Neville struggled with the toad in his hand as it was trying desperately to get free.

"I…I didn't want…disturb…I didn't…"

"Oh, don't be silly!" Ginny said, opening the door and walking inside the compartment.

Neville's large brown eyes met Harry's and he looked at him with a nervous glance. It was clear to see that he hadn't recognised him.

"You can sit with us, if…if you want to." He mumbled.

Harry had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. It was too much to take. To see the boy who, in his world, was trained to defeat Voldemort, in this pathetic state. His chubby face was gleaming with sweat, from dragging his trunk. His eyes hardly stayed on Harry's face; he was too timid to even look Harry in the eye.

"Neville, its Harry, stop fretting." Ginny called from the compartment.

Neville's mouth dropped open. He snapped his head up to look at Harry. Disbelief laced every inch of his face but when the boy looked into Harry's eyes, he let out a small 'oh!'

Soundless words left him making it look like he was fish out of water. Harry let out a chuckle at the sight.

"Done?" Harry asked after Neville gave up trying to question his friend's different appearance.

Neville nodded his head, eyes still wide and fixed unwaveringly on Harry.

"Then let's go." Harry walked past Neville and didn't look back to see if the other boy was following him.

Harry walked in to find the compartment only had two girls sitting in it. One was Ginny and the other was a girl Harry had never seen. She struck him at once as someone he didn't want to speak to.

She was sitting next to the window, reading a magazine which was held upside down. That was the first and only sign Harry needed to ignore the strange girl. The girl looked up at Harry as he sat across from her. She had long, straggly, dirty blond hair, very pale eyebrows above wide protuberant eyes. She had a necklace made out of butterbeer corks which made a noise every time she shifted in her seat. Harry glanced at her as she was staring at him. He noted the wand stuck behind her ear and had to suppress the urge to slap her for it.

"Had a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked, making polite conversation.

"Yes," said Luna in a dreamy way. Her eyes were still fixed on Harry, even though she was speaking to Ginny. "It was quite enjoyable, _you're_ Harry Potter." She suddenly added.

"You don't say." Harry idly answered.

"But you don't look like you usually do." Luna said, seeming as if she hadn't heard his answer.

Neville looked at Harry as well, waiting for an explanation. But Harry didn't offer any. Ginny quickly mentioned the potion accident and that it was responsible for Harry's altered appearance.

"You tried making a potion at home?" Neville asked in amazement.

Harry ignored him.

Luna went back to her magazine, whose title Harry read was, The Quibbler. Neville tried talking to Harry but Harry ignored him. He didn't have the patience to deal with Neville, he knew it was wrong but his dislike for the Neville in his world was stopping him from tolerating this Neville.

Neville shared a questioning look with Ginny but the red haired girl shook her head at him, signalling that she didn't know why Harry was in a mood.

In an effort to get Harry to talk to him, Neville showed him his birthday present.

"Look what I got, Harry." he said as he fished inside his schoolbag. He pulled out a small plant that resembled a cactus, only it was grey and had boils instead of spines.

"Hmm, a Mimbulus mimbletonia, nice." Harry commented, hardly looking at the plant.

"My uncle Algie got it for me. It's really something, it has this amazing defensive mechanism, here I'll show you." Neville made to hand Harry the plant but Harry didn't take it from him.

"I have no desire to be covered in stinking goo, thanks Longbottom." Harry said.

Neville didn't say anything but sunk back in his seat, staring at the stunted plant, not looking up at anyone. Ginny moved across to sit next to Harry and whispered to him,

"Since when is he Longbottom to you?" she asked a hard note in her voice.

Before Harry could answer her, the door slid open and a dark haired, pretty girl appeared in their compartment. He looked around the room before stopping on Harry. At first there was no recognition, then suddenly she let out a small 'oh' and her mouth dropped open.

"Harry? Is that you?" she asked.

Harry had no idea who the girl.

"Hi Cho" Ginny greeted her, giving Harry her name. "How are you?"

"I…okay, I guess." She trailed off, a look of unease washed over her. "Well, I just thought I would say hello. Um, bye then."

With that the door slid closed and the girl was away. Shortly after Ron and Hermione appeared. Harry half listened to them rant on about the prefect duties they had and who the other house prefects were.

"Guess who the Slytherin prefect is." Ron asked Harry.

Harry shrugged, "no idea." He replied.

"Malfoy, who else!" Ron spat bitterly.

Harry didn't comment. He knew he was going to meet the counterpart of his best friend soon. The last time he had seen Draco, he had been in hospital. He was out of the coma but was still recovering. Harry had figured out from the way Ron and Hermione spoke about him, that Draco and Harry of this universe were not friends. Harry wondered how the Draco Malfoy of this world was going to react to him.

He found out all too soon.

The door to the compartment slid open and three Slytherins stood in the doorway. Harry looked up to see a fifteen year old Draco Malfoy standing with his usual cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Draco's sleek blond hair was arranged in place, his sneer fixed in place, a smirk playing on his lips. His grey eyes scanned the room and landed on Harry. Malfoy's pale pointed face lost its sneer and for a moment he just stared at Harry. He quickly regained his composure and scoffed at Harry.

"Playing dress up, Potter?" Draco asked. "You can do as many glamour spells as you like, but you'll still always be a loser!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Hermione jumped to Harry's defence.

Malfoy shot her a malicious look but otherwise ignored her.

"You better behave yourself this year, Potter." Malfoy jabbed at the Prefect badge pinned to his Slytherin robes. "Or I'll be handing you out punishments."

Harry couldn't help it. The sight if Draco Malfoy, showing off his Prefect badge and threatening him with punishments was just too funny. He started laughing. The smirk fell from Malfoy's face and he glared at Harry.

"What's so funny?!" he spat at him.

"You, threatening me and, well, that's about it." Harry said with amusement.

Malfoy's lip curled and he shot a hateful look at Harry.

"If I were you I would watch myself. You won't be laughing for long." Malfoy threatened.

"Get out, Malfoy!" Ron yelled.

Malfoy and his two goons turned to leave. Harry's finger twitched and the door slid closed, just before the three Slytherins were about to leave. All three smashed rather painfully face first into the door.

Malfoy turned to Crabbe and slapped him against the head.

"You were supposed to open the door!" he yelled at him.

Crabbe looked stupidly at Malfoy, holding his nose. Malfoy turned back to glare at Harry, who in turn was still smiling at him, clear mirth in his eyes. The rest were chuckling quietly and making no effort to hide their amusement. Only Luna seemed to be unaware of the Slytherins' presence. Malfoy smashed open the door and stormed out, his two cronies following him.

"Oh, that was great! Good work with the non verbal spell, Hermione." Ron said, patting her on the shoulder.

"I never did that!" Hermione objected.

Ron looked around the room before looking at her.

"Then who did?" he asked. "Other than you, Hermione, no one else in this room can cast such a complicated spell." He said, intending to compliment her.

Hermione's eyes flickered to Harry. She hadn't seen him do anything but the way he had looked at Malfoy, the way he had dealt with him; it was very different to the way he usually fought with Malfoy.

She looked away from Harry and stared out of the window. She thought about how much her friend had changed, and it wasn't his physical appearance. His personality had completely changed. She warily wondered what other changes a 'botched up' potion could cause.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please read and review! Cheers!!


	13. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are the best!! Here's the next chapter, Enjoy!!

**Chapter Thirteen**

**_AU World_**

Damien made his way to the Gryffindor common room, tired beyond belief. He had so much homework to do tonight, the mere thought was tiring him out. He entered the common room and hurried to sit in the armchair nearest the fireplace. As soon as he lowered himself into his favourite chair he heard his name being called. Looking up he caught sight of a sixth year, Jason Hugh.

"Your dad told me to tell you, he wants to see you right now, before dinner."

Damien groaned.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know." Jason replied. "I'm just passing on the message."

Damien got back up and headed for the door, wondering what his dad wanted to talk to him about.

xxx

James paced the length of his room, hands clasped behind him, deep in thought of how he was going to go about this. His best friend, Sirius Black sat watching him.

"If you do that any longer, you'll create a runway in the middle of your room." he joked. James ignored him and increased his pace. "For Merlin's sake, will you sit down!" Sirius said, pointing to a seat across from him.

James stopped, looked over to where Sirius was pointing and then started pacing again.

"It helps me think." He said in explanation.

"Why are you thinking so much?" Sirius asked and then realised how bizarre a question that was.

"It's Harry," James said. "He's been acting so strange, it's really starting to scare me."

"What did he do now?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing in particular. He hasn't actually done anything. That's just the thing, it's not anything he does, it's more how he acts these days." James explained, visibly worried.

"What do you mean?"

James paused in his pacing.

"He's very quiet and at times he seems so…depressed." James said after a few moments of thought.

"Because he's usually such a regular ray of sunshine!" Sirius responded.

James sighed dejectedly and sat down across Sirius.

"It's hard to explain. Before Harry was a…a…broody type of quiet, now he's a shy type of quiet. Does that make sense?" he asked.

"Kind of, I just didn't know there are 'types' of quiet." Sirius joked again, annoying James.

"You don't get it!" he fumed.

"You're getting all worked up over nothing." Sirius tried to tell him.

"There is something going on with Harry. He's been acting strange ever since coming to Hogwarts." James said.

"Have you talked to him about it?" Sirius asked. James just looked at him. "Of course not, what was I thinking?" he mused. "So, what are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to talk to Damien." James said.

"What? Why?" Sirius asked confused.

"If there's something going on with Harry, I can bet you all the broomsticks in the world, Damien will know about it." James said.

"So you're going to _interrogate_ your younger son for information?" Sirius asked. James didn't give an answer. "Have you talked to Lily about this?" Sirius asked, not looking at all pleased.

"She doesn't agree with me. She thinks I'm overacting." James admitted. "She's more than happy with Harry's opening up to her, don't get me wrong, I'm thankful too, it's just, I can't understand what made him change so suddenly."

Sirius' comment was drowned out by the sound of knocking. James reached the door in two strides and opened it to find Damien before him.

"You wanted to see me?" Damien asked as he walked inside, gesturing 'hello' to his Godfather.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were, I've not had a chance to talk to you lately." James said, closing the door and walking over to join his son and friend.

"You asked for me to come and see you before dinner, just to see how I was?" Damien asked, still standing up.

"Yeah" James answered.

"Well, if that's all you wanted, I should go. I have so much homework, it should have a room to itself." Damien said, heading for the door.

"No, actually I do have something I wanted to talk to you about. Take a seat." James said. He guided the bewildered boy to a seat and gestured for him to sit.

"Okay, what's going on?" Damien asked.

"Nothing" James gave Sirius a pointed look, gesturing for him to leave. Sirius didn't move. "Don't you have somewhere to go?" James asked tersely.

"No, I'm fine here." Sirius replied, returning James' look.

"You should go and see Lily, before you leave. And shouldn't you see Harry on your visit?"

Sirius knew he wouldn't be able to win this fight. He grudgingly got up; he didn't think it was very fair of James to annoy Damy for information on Harry. It just wasn't right.

"See you later, pup. Take it easy, Prongs." Sirius whispered the last part to his friend, before crossing the room and disappearing through the door.

James sat across Damien, suddenly feeling very apprehensive. Was he really overacting?

"Uh, dad?" James snapped up to see Damien looking worriedly at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wanted to talk to you about, about Harry." James said keeping his eyes fixed to Damien for any reactions.

Damien tried, he really tried hard not to let his panic show. He kept his face tightly controlled in a blank expression. With all the energy he could muster, he answered.

"About Harry? What about him?"

James could see through Damien and his act. He had been an Auror for so long, he was used to questioning people. He could see the panic in him, even though his son was fighting to hide it. His eyes gave away everything.

"Have you noticed anything, weird about him, lately?" James asked.

"Not really, Harry's pretty weird to start with." Damien tried to joke, with a strained laugh.

"I've noticed a lot of differences in his behaviour lately and I'm starting to get concerned," James continued. "I don't know what's going on but I'm pretty sure you do."

Damien fidgeted in his seat, not making any eye contact. 'Damn, Harry, both of them.'

"Alright, dad. You figured it out. You're right, something is going on with Harry." Damien said.

James sat up in his seat, his full, undivided attention on the boy before him.

"What? What's happened?"

Damien took a deep breath.

"It's Ginny," he said.

"Ginny?" James asked, surprised.

"Yes, Ginny. Harry and she have been having a rough time. It's very complicated not to mention private but just consider that they could break up at any time."

James looked genuinely shocked. He sat with his hands clasped, a deep look of worry on his face.

"What happened? I mean they both seemed so happy, what changed?" he asked. Damien cringed internally. 'I'm so going to hell' he thought miserably, before going on with his elaborate lie.

"Ginny did, she's just been blaming a lot of things on Harry, gets him really miserable. She's totally messed with his head. Harry doesn't feel confident in himself anymore, thinks that he can't get anything right, that's he's responsible for everything that goes wrong."

"What!?" James suddenly got very angry. "Why would she do that? She didn't seem like that kind of girl!"

"She's not said anything to him, not directly. It's more the way she's been acting, blowing him off, standing him up on dates. I think someone is messing with her. She's starting to listen to others talk about them and I think at times, she gets carried away." Damien really hated himself right now, but he had to say something to protect their secret.

"That's why he seems so insecure. It makes sense." James muttered.

'Oh, thank God!' Damien said under his breath. Out loud he said, "That's why Harry spends so much time with you guys, it's because he tries to stay away from Ginny."

"I had no idea." James said quietly. "Ginny is a sensible girl, she shouldn't let others talk her out of this relationship."

Damien nodded his head, too disgusted with himself to say anymore.

"I'll be having words with Arthur." James said quietly.

"What?! No, no, you can't!" Damien said, leaping to his feet.

"Why not? His daughter is hurting my son." James replied.

"Dad! This is Harry's private matter. Let him deal with it. If you say anything, to anyone about this, it'll only embarrass Harry more. Besides, I'm not even supposed to say anything to you about this. Harry will kill me!"

"Fine, I won't say anything." James begrudgingly agreed.

"You shouldn't say anything in any case. It's nothing to do with you." Damien retorted. "And you shouldn't say anything to either Harry or Ginny. Let them sort this out themselves."

James didn't give any verbal affirmation but nodded his head a fraction.

"I should go now, I really have loads of homework to get through." Damien got up and headed for the door. A hand stopped him from the shoulder and he was turned around to face James.

"Damien, I hope that you've told me everything. I had asked you once before to never keep things from me where it concerned Harry's safety. I ask you again to bear that in mind."

Damien had to swallow down the truth as it came bubbling up from within. He forced a smile on his face before walking out, aware of his dad's eyes on him the whole time.

xxx

"Harry and Ginny are having problems?" Lily asked.

"That's what Damien told me." James replied, stretched out on Lily's sofa.

"You don't believe him?" Lily asked, her green eyes narrowed at her husband.

James took a few moments to answer.

"Damien's my son, I know him well enough to know when he's having me on and when he's telling the truth." He replied.

"You think Damien's lying? Why would he lie?" Lily asked, not liking the accusation against her son.

James sat up, stretching his long legs before him.

"Damien's explanation fits Harry's behaviour; his sudden interest in spending time with us, his unusual lack of confidence and even his distance from Ginny. But what it doesn't explain is the way he spoke to me regarding the Ministry and my return to being an Auror. It doesn't explain the way he talks to me, or the way he looks at me, like he's seeing me for the first time."

"You're just reading too much into this." Lily said shaking her head.

"No, I'm not. Lily, I know Harry and I know when he's upset. Harry's recent behaviour doesn't suggest he's upset. On the contrary he seems like he's having a great time, especially when he's with us."

"If you knew Damien was lying, why didn't you tell him so?" Lily asked, getting tired of James' suspicion.

James ran a hand through his dark locks.

"He put so much into his story; I just figured I should let him have this. And besides, if he didn't tell me the first time I asked, then he won't tell me, even if I ask him a hundred times."

"So, what are you going to do?" Lily asked.

James leaned back and closed his eyes.

"I'm going to find out the truth, my own way."

--

_**Canon World**_

"Where's Hagrid?"

"I don't know."

"He can't have left."

"We should move, we're blocking the way." Ginny said, pulling her brother out of the way. Ron was still busy looking around for Hagrid.

Harry walked along beside them, wondering who the hell Hagrid was. He didn't voice his confusion or join in the discussion. He kept his head down and walked quickly towards the carriage, their trunks being dragged behind them.

As Hermione, Ginny, Luna and much to Harry's chagrin, Neville piled into one of the carriages, Ron and Harry took a few moments loading the trunks onto the carriage. Harry heard the soft grunt of the winged horse, harnessed to the carriage and looked around at it. He had seen Thestrals before; he saw them for the very first time when he was sent on an _assignment_. He had read about them before so he had instantly recognised it when he saw it soar in the sky above him. When he was brought forcefully to Hogwarts, two years ago, he had seen them numerous times, flying above the forbidden forest.

Harry walked over to the front and before he lifted himself onto the carriage, he reached out and stroked the beast, his fingers brushing softly over the leathery wings. The Thestral let out another soft hiss and turned its dragonish head around to peer at him. Harry gave it a small smile before he went inside. Once he was sitting down, he noticed Luna, smiling serenely at him.

"You can see them too." She whispered to him, her dreamy voice catching everyone's attention.

Harry didn't answer but saw Hermione take immediate interest.

"See what?" she asked.

Luna kept her eyes fixed on Harry.

"I gathered you might see them now, after what happened. I could see them from my very first day at Hogwarts." She informed him.

Harry knew who could see Thestrals; those who had seen death. That meant that the blond haired girl had seen someone die. The knowledge unsettled him for some reason. He still didn't speak, either to confirm what she was saying or deny it.

"What could you see from your first day at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked again.

But Luna didn't answer her. She sat back and stared out the window, a contented smile on her face. Harry looked away from her and saw Hermione's annoyed face. She didn't look happy about being ignored. He smiled at the thought of how many times he had made Hermione look like that. He stared out of the window as a sudden pressure twisted at his heart. He didn't _miss_ Hermione. He didn't miss his own world with his parents and brother and his friends and his girlfriend. He just didn't.

xxx

The doors to the Great Hall opened and in poured the students, all looking glad to be back. The students instantly segregated to their own house tables and sat down with friends, already sharing stories of their summer holiday. The hall glowed with the hundreds of floating candles, the enchanted sky showed the dark nights sky, clouds blocking any stars.

Professor Dumbledore took a sip from his goblet as he watched the hall fill with his students. It was a sight he cherished, the beginning of the term, his students arriving, ready and prepared for the year ahead. His blue eyes settled on the seat he had last seen a seventh year Hufflepuff boy sit in. He let out a pained sigh as the seat now held a fifth year girl, Hannah Abbott.

Cedric's death was weighing heavily on him. The boy had died when he was under his care. His death tainted Hogwarts, just like the death of Myrtle had. A lot of parents had written to him, complained to him, told him that he was unfit as Headmaster. Not only because a student lost his life when he was supposed to have been safe at Hogwarts, but because his death was linked with an outright lie; that He-who-must-not-be-named had returned and was responsible for Cedric Diggory's death.

No matter what he did and how hard he tried, the magical community was unwilling to believe that Lord Voldemort was back. Dumbledore gazed at the night sky, his thoughts on the one student he was desperate to see. He felt awful for having ignored Harry, but his reasoning was understandable. He had to protect Harry, until he was ready to face him, to face Voldemort.

The doors opened again, catching Dumbledore's attention. He looked to the doors to see a large crowd hurry inside. It was then that he saw him walk in amongst the crowd. The moment Dumbledore saw Harry Potter, he felt his breath catch in his chest. Of course, he had been informed of the change in Harry's physical appearance by his Order members. But even then, he wasn't quite prepared to take in Harry's new look.

Dumbledore stared at him; the dark haired boy that was walking into the hall, head held high, emerald green eyes, free from the black framed glasses, taking in his surroundings with quiet intensity, his confident steps falling on the ground making his school robes flow behind him. Harry strode in, his usual friends at his side, looking small and meek compared to him.

Dumbledore wasn't the only one taking note of Harry Potter's entrance. The students turned in their seats to stare at him. At once whispers echoed in the hall.

"Is that…Harry?"

"Oh Merlin, what happened to him?!"

"Damn, he grew up fast!"

"What did he do? Is that a glamour?"

Dumbledore sat up a little straighter in his seat, his blue gaze fixed to Harry. He watched as the raven haired boy ignored the stares and whispers. He sat down at the Gryffindor table and gave no response to the greetings he received. He sat quietly at the table, making conversation with his friends.

Not once did the boy glance up to the staff table.

Dumbledore saw Ronald Weasley whisper something to him and Harry looked over to the Slytherin table, a smirk on his face. He turned back around and shared a few words with a smiling Ron.

Dumbledore felt an unexplainable cold creep down his spine as he saw Harry smirk. He had never seen Harry look like that. Harry _smiled_, he never _smirked_. That small difference was enough to worry the Headmaster. Yet, he knew the boy was Harry Potter. Moody had performed the identity spell himself. There was no way anyone could manipulate that spell.

When Dumbledore had been informed that Harry Potter's appearance had been altered due to a botched up potion, he had thought it was just something small. Molly had told him that Harry had' changed completely' but he disregarded her comments, thinking she was getting carried away. Truth was he was distracted by the happenings at the Ministry and the trouble Fudge was causing him. He hadn't paid Molly and her report on Harry much notice. However, now that he was looking at the young man before him he felt annoyed at his Order members. How could they not see that the differences displayed in Harry couldn't possibly be from a potion mistake?

Dumbledore looked away from Harry, who he noted had yet to look towards the staff table. Harry always looked for him when he arrived at Hogwarts. It was something Dumbledore had noticed. But this time, Harry was plainly ignoring the teachers, and him.

Dumbledore only tore his gaze away from Harry when the newest member of his staff asked for his attention.

"_Hem, hem_"

xxx

Harry ignored the stares and whispers around him and concentrated on what Ron was saying. He looked behind him at the Slytherin table and saw with amusement, three Slytherins with bruised faces and red noses. Malfoy glared at him making Harry smirk. He turned back to Ron, to see the red haired boy looking immensely happy.

"At least they'll look where they're going next time." Harry said.

"They won't come near our compartment again, that's for sure." Ron laughed back.

Harry could feel the stares on him; they felt like physical weights, clinging to him. But it was one particular person's stare that he felt the most. Harry smiled deeply at the realisation that Albus Dumbledore, the great and powerful wizard, Headmaster of Hogwarts, was stumped with Harry's new look. He resisted the temptation to look over at him and see the confused look on his face. He knew that by ignoring the Professor, he was annoying him more. So he refused to look over, even when Ron and Hermione went on and on about the missing Hagrid person, whoever that was.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked with a frown.

Harry had no choice; he glanced over to the table to see who Hermione was talking about. He saw the Dumbledore of this world, wearing his usual silly attire, deep in conversation with another member of staff. It was this person Hermione was gesturing to. Harry took in the appearance of the woman talking intently with Dumbledore. The first thing that hit Harry was how much she resembled a toad. Her face was wide and her eyes bulged out slightly. Even though she was seated, Harry could tell she was short and squat. She was wearing a pink hair band in her mousy, tightly curled, brown hair. What was worse was the matching fluffy pink cardigan she was wearing over her robes. She reached for her goblet to take a sip and Harry recoiled at the sight of several ugly old fashioned rings on her stubby fingers.

"Who do you reckon that is?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, I just asked you that same question!" Hermione replied annoyed.

"Alright, calm down, you'll make your hair more bushy." Ron remarked.

Hermione shot him a look that plainly read, 'don't go there!'

"She must be the new Defence teacher, that's the only position that was vacant." Neville offered meekly.

Harry looked around at the new Defence teacher to find her gaze focused on him. Harry held her gaze, keeping his face free from all expressions. The witch in pink smiled slowly at him, revealing very pointy teeth.

"Merlin, she's creepy." Ron said, noticing the way she was staring at his friend.

"Creepy, doesn't cover it." Harry commented.

He only looked away when she broke her gaze and looked over at the steady stream of first years arriving for the sorting. Harry turned in his seat to see the small uniformed children arriving in the hall, looking scared and bewildered. Harry settled to watch the sorting, one of the things of Hogwarts, he actually enjoyed.

xxx

_...And now the Sorting Hat is here  
and you all know the score:  
I sort you into __Houses__  
because that is what I'm for.  
But this year I'll go further,  
listen closely to my song:  
though condemned I am to split you  
still I worry that it's wrong,  
though I must fulfil my duty  
and must quarter every year  
still I wonder whether sorting  
may not bring the end I fear.  
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
the warning history shows,  
for our __Hogwarts__ is in danger  
from external, deadly foes  
and we must unite inside her  
or we'll crumble from within  
I have told you, I have warned you...  
let the Sorting now begin._

For the first few moments the hall was in complete silence. Harry looked around the hall to see worried and confused faces. Professor McGonagall took charge and started calling out names of the first years, which came one by one and took a seat on the three legged stool. The sorting began and slowly the line of first years shortened.

Ron whispered to Harry,

"Fat chance of us uniting with the Slytherins. Don't know what's up with that hat? Giving such advice." he scoffed. "Unite together, yeah right! As if Gryffindor and Slytherin could ever unite as one!"

Harry didn't respond. Ron didn't know how powerful a union those two houses could be. The proof was sitting right next to him.

As soon as the last person ran to their table, Dumbledore stood up, commanding silence. Harry watched, his eyes never leaving the man he hated with vigour.

"There is always time for a speech. But this is not it, tuck in!" he clapped his hands and the four tables suddenly groaned under the strain of food.

Ron dove straight in and pulled the tray of pork chops towards him. Hermione was telling him off for eating like a starved person. Harry was still watching Dumbledore. The Headmaster sat down, reaching for his goblet again. His blue eyes glanced up at Harry over half moon glasses. Harry met the Headmaster's gaze straight on. As soon as their eyes met, Dumbledore tore his eyes away, looking beyond him at the doors. But not before noting that cold smirk again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just a note to say that I wrote the Dumbledore's POV on the request of Go10. (I hope you liked it Go10!)

Let me know what you thought about the chapter!! Cheers!!


	14. The Researcher's Corner

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to all those who reviewed! Here's the next chappie, Enjoy!

Note: To remove any doubts, I'm going to put up headings to let you know what universe we're in. Hope that helps clear any confusion.

**Chapter Fourteen**

**_AU World_**

Lily knew it was a bad idea. The minute James had said the words, she knew it would go wrong. But Lily also knew when it came to Quidditch; no one would listen to her, not James, not Damien and not even Harry.

So, Lily sat on the cold seat, wrapped up in her cloak, muttering choice words to herself, her watchful gaze fixed on the flying figures as they raced each other in the cold night. How they could see anything was beyond her. it was already past dusk and the golden snitch was difficult to see in daylight, never mind the dark. There were only three bewitched lanterns, dangling in mid air, giving the players a poor excuse of light.

Whenever James and the boys played Quidditch, Lily never joined them. But when she heard James suggest a game at dusk, to make the play 'more interesting' she knew it was a bad idea. She came along to make sure they played safely. After all, she was the only one with enough sense to stop the game when it was necessary. She still remembered the time she was pregnant with Harry and she watched a game between James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Arthur and Frank and a few other Aurors. James had been hit in the shoulder by one of the bludgers, causing his arm to be dislocated. James had continued playing, insisting that he was okay. Lily had to scream at everyone to stop playing, in order to get James off his broomstick. She would never forget that day. She knew that her sons, especially the younger one, loved the game to that intensity too.

James was guarding the hoops, a bat in his hand, beating the bludgers towards Damien and Harry, who were playing as Chasers. Harry was also acting as the seeker but didn't honestly know how he was supposed to see it, it was too dark.

Harry was scanning his surroundings to see if he could catch the golden snitch, maybe see it fluttering past one of the lanterns.

"Harry! Watch out!"

Harry swung around at Damien's voice to find a bludger coming at him, fast. Harry swerved out of the way effortlessly. He had been playing Quidditch for almost five years now; dodging bludgers came easily to him. Harry had just turned his broomstick around when two things happened at once. Something heavy hit him square in the back, right between the shoulder blades. The force propelled him forward. At the same time a bludger knocked him against the head, making him lose his balance. Harry fell from his broom, all the way to the ground. He was sure he heard his mum scream just before the ground came rushing to meet him.

xxx

Harry could feel his head thump painfully when he came around. He fought to open his eyes. At first his vision was blurry and Harry reached out to feel for his glasses, an instinctive reaction. He felt warm fingers grasp onto his hand and hold it tightly.

"Harry?"

Harry blinked through the haze and gradually his sight became clear. The blur before him sharpened to James' worried face.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"Yeah" Harry croaked in reply.

He struggled to sit up, his head was throbbing horribly. James and Damien helped him to sit up and he realised that he was still on the Quidditch pitch. He must have only been unconscious for a few moments. The three lanterns were hovering above him, James and Damien were sitting next to him. Lily was nowhere to be seen. As soon as Harry sat up, he reached for his head. He could feel a prominent bump on the back of his head.

"Ow, what happened?" Harry asked rubbing his head tenderly.

"You fell, that's what happened." Damien told him. "You were hit by two bludgers at the same time. I got to tell you, Harry, that's never happened to anyone."

Harry gave Damien a look.

"Glad to be the first." He said dryly.

"Are you okay? Do you need to visit the hospital wing?" James asked, concerned.

"No, I think I'm okay-" the rest of Harry's words were drowned out by the sound of footsteps pounding on the soft ground. Harry only noticed a red haired blur before he was engulfed in a fierce embrace by Lily.

"Harry! Oh thank God, you're okay! I was so worried. You hit the ground hard, even with my spell to slow you down. God, Harry, you could have been really hurt! Thank Merlin you're okay! Oh, Thank Merlin!"

Lily was hugging Harry tightly, her arms around him, cradling him next to her chest. Harry knew that when he was a baby, his parents must have hugged him, held him, kissed him, but he didn't remember any of it. To him, this was the first time he had been hugged by his mum. It was strange; he never thought the action would bring tears to his eyes. His heart was breaking and swelling at the same time. He furiously blinked the tears back, he couldn't cry, it would confuse them.

Lily was still holding him, refusing to let him go. She loosened her grip only slightly, so she could face James and yell at him for sending two bludgers at Harry.

A part of Harry wanted her to let go of him, it was hurting too much to have her hug him, love him and for him not to react. The other part of him wished she would never let go. He had desperately wanted to hug his mum so many times in his life. Whenever he saw Dudley being pampered by aunt Petunia, he imagined his mum doing the same to him. Whenever Mrs Weasley engulfed him in a motherly hug he was painfully reminded that it was Ron's mum hugging him, not his own.

He bit back his tears, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. Slowly, as if by their own accord, Harry's arms lifted and he wrapped his arms around his mum, gently almost as if she would disappear if he held her too tightly.

Lily stopped talking as she felt Harry's arms around her. She pulled away slightly to look at him and noticed Harry's eyes were closed. She reached over and gently touched his cheek, making Harry open his eyes. That was when she saw the unshed tears glistening in his eyes. Lily stared at him, unable to see past the emerald eyes. Never before had Harry looked at her like that. Wordlessly she held him close, like she did when he was a baby. Her hand caressed the back of his head, gently feeling the bump.

"Harry," she started in a gentle voice. "You should really go and see Poppy. That's an awful bump you have."

"I'm okay." Harry mumbled back, his voice sounding choked.

James took over and helped Harry to stand up.

"Come on, we should go inside." He said, wrapping an arm around Harry.

Both James and Lily helped Harry walk back into the castle, Damien trailing behind them not looking happy at all.

xxx

Harry was taken up to see Poppy, despite him saying he felt fine. James and Lily didn't relent and guided him to the hospital wing where Poppy took her time to check him.

"You're fine. I hope you understand that you could have cracked your skull open! Thankfully, your luck held out and you survived with nothing more than a bruise." She reprimanded. "And why were you playing Quidditch in the dark in the first place?"

Lily looked over at James with an accusatory look.

"I thought it would be…different." James explained now wearing a very shameful expression.

"It wasn't your fault..." Harry started.

"Yes, it was!" Lily interjected. "He threw two bludgers at you."

"That's my job as a Beater, and no I didn't!" James responded. "I told you, I threw one at him, the other bludger just happen to hit him at the same time. It was bad timing, that's all."

"Can we go now?" Damien asked from the corner of the room. "Harry's fine, can we leave?" he asked tiredly.

Lily looked at Damien reproachfully but didn't say anything. Instead she turned to the school nurse.

"Poppy?"

"Yes, he can leave. But make sure he takes pain relief potion and some anti inflammatory potion, it'll help." Poppy answered, handing the potions to Lily.

Lily took the potions, that she herself had brewed and pocketed them. The four Potters left the wing and headed for their living quarters.

"Damien, you better go to your dorm, its past curfew." Lily said, stopping Damien from joining them.

"I want to stay with Harry, just to make sure he's okay." Damien replied.

"Right, because you sounded really worried in the hospital wing." Lily scolded.

"you know how much I hate that place, with it's white walls, and white beds with white sheets and white curtains, I mean seriously, what harm would a dash of colour do?" Damien answered.

Lily was still annoyed with him but let him stay with Harry. She knew if she didn't allow him now, he would sneak down to see Harry later on. Damien would happily risk getting caught breaking curfew if he wanted to stay with his brother.

As soon as Harry closed the door to his quarter, after bidding goodnight to his parents, he turned around to face Damien. For the first few minutes, neither spoke. Then Damien walked over to the sofa and sat down.

"Rough night." He commented running a hand through his hair.

Harry joined him, opting to sit at the foot of his bed.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Harry responded.

"That was too close, Harry." Damien said in a quiet but serious voice.

"You're telling me. My head is still throbbing." Harry said, reaching back to feel the bump.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Damien answered, his eyes fixed to Harry.

Harry sighed, he knew.

"I'm sorry, Damien." Harry started.

"Sorry doesn't cover it. Dad's already suspicious that something is up with you. After the way you acted with mum tonight, dad's going to know for sure something is wrong."

Harry let out a tired breath.

"I know, I shouldn't have hugged her but I couldn't help myself. She's my mum, she was comforting me. For the first time in my life I was being hugged by my mum, how did you expect me to react?" Harry asked.

Damien didn't have an answer. He looked away from Harry and just stared at the carpet, deep in thought.

"Look, don't get annoyed with me, I didn't…" Harry started.

"I'm not annoyed at you." Damien said. "It's not your fault. It must be hard, acting distant with the people you want to stay close to. It's unfair on you, I can understand that."

Harry understood the pressure that was on the other boy. He could see Damien felt awful for forcing him to stay away from his parents. It was not something he wanted to do but rather _had_ to do. The boys sat in silence after that, each thinking about the problems the other had in keeping their secret. How was Harry to know that the pressure Damien was under was a lot more severe than he understood? He didn't know that Damien was keeping more than one secret.

xxx

Harry observed his surroundings with curiosity. He had never been in the 'Researcher's Corner' before. Truth was that it wasn't a corner at all. It was a whole building. The magnificent building looked like a museum from the outside. The carved statues of famous wizards were so lifelike, Harry had to stop and stare at them to make sure they weren't alive. The sculptures were breathtaking and the entire building was circled by acres of green grass. Behind the building were numerous Greenhouses, obviously for the Herbology projects. The building had eight floors and innumerable rooms with labs and test rooms and different zones. It was a maze that Harry was sure he could never figure out.

Harry stood next to Ron and waited patiently for their friend to show up. Sure enough, Hermione appeared in the long corridor, a clipboard in her hand. She was talking to a fellow colleague and didn't notice the two boys standing waiting for her. When she looked over and caught sight of them, her face broke out in her usual smile. She rushed over to them.

"You're early." She said in form of a greeting, hugging both boys.

"We could go back if you want." Harry joked.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that. Oh, never mind." She said.

Ron and Harry had arranged to meet Hermione at her 'office' after her work so she could take them to her new house. She had moved out of her parents' home and had got a nice little cottage in the wizarding town of Gelgoton, the same town that her work, the Researcher's Corner was in.

"Are you guys ready to go, or do you want a tour?" Hermione asked optimistically.

"I just want to see your new house. I don't care for this place." Ron said.

Hermione looked hopefully over at Harry.

"Well, a quick tour would be okay, I guess." Harry said, knowing that was the answer Hermione wanted to hear.

Ron groaned, making Hermione lightly slap him on the arm.

"Why did you have to go and do that? This place is huge. It'll take forever to see it. I really want to see her new house." Ron whined.

"I know, but she seems excited." Harry said, pointing to Hermione who was already talking and giving them detailed information about the labs and what project was happening in what room.

Ron and Harry listened half heartedly and followed her down the corridor.

"…and in this lab Robert Cheffield is working on a Project that will hopefully revolutionise the use of animals in potions. It's something to do with cloning the body parts that are used in potions so less animals are killed." Hermione said with a noticeable note of pride in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah that's great, can we go, please?" Ron asked.

"You're really that bored?" Hermione asked.

"Extremely!"

Hermione sighed.

"Fine, let's go." She gave in, heading for the grand staircase that led them to the ground floor.

Harry followed the couple quietly, engrossed in a strong sense of déjà vu. Ron and Hermione were just like they were in his world, forever bickering with one another but still unable to stay away from each other. Harry wondered if they would start to go out with each other when they were older, like this world's Ron and Hermione.

They reached the landing and made their way towards the front door. Suddenly Hermione stopped and turned around, an excited look on her face.

"Oh, how could I forget? I have to show you the best part!" she quickly took a hold of Harry and Ron and before they could protest she literally dragged them across to the other side of the atrium, towards a set of stairs that led to the basement.

"Hermione? Where are you going?" Ron asked, defeated.

"I have to show you this! It's amazing!" she replied, plopping quickly down the stairs.

There was only one door at the foot of the stairs. It was a plain wooden door with no handle. Hermione took out a small disc, round and silver from her bag. Harry thought it looked like a CD, he had seen many in Dudley's room. Hermione held the disc to the door and a round dent appeared, outlining the disc. A moment later there was a loud click and the disc was taken into the door, embedded inside it like was always a part of it. A line started from the middle of the disc and travelled in both directions until there was a line going straight down the middle of the door. The door parted in the middle and slid open, the disc in two perfect halves, still embedded inside the door.

Hermione led the two boys inside a circular room, a raised platform in the middle with only a wooden table perched upon it. All around Harry, there were shelves and shelves full of books. Everywhere Harry looked, all he could see were never ending stacks of books.

"So?" Hermione asked, excited etched on her face.

"Wow, it's a library." Harry said, attempting to sound impressed but it came out sounding sarcastic.

"Hermione, I say this with love," Ron said, putting an arm around her. "You need help, seriously. You brought us here to show us a library!"

Hermione shook Ron's arm away from her and walked away, stepping onto the platform.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Hermione said loudly, her back turned to him.

"Yes?" Ron asked, confused with Hermione's weird behaviour.

Suddenly a strange sound vibrated through the room. Harry was reminded of all the times he was flying, the wind rushing past him, making his ears ring. From the corner of his eye he saw something zoom towards him, he ducked just in time as a stack of papers rushed past him and landed squarely on the middle of the wooden table. He straightened up to see a pile of papers lying neatly on the table along with four thick volumes and Hermione looking very smug.

"What the hell was that?" Ron asked, climbing onto the platform and coming to stand next to Hermione.

"This isn't a library; it's something so much bigger." Hermione explained.

Harry walked onto the platform as well and joined them. Hermione picked up the papers and showed them to Ron.

"Hey, that's me!" Ron said, his eyebrows disappearing under his bangs. He was staring back at his own picture, along with the rest of his family. "This was when we went to Egypt."

Harry saw that the papers were actually copies of the Daily Prophet. The four thick volumes were untitled.

"What is this?" Harry asked.

"This is the biggest resource facility in Britain. A copy of every newspaper that has ever been published is stored here, along with all the books and magazines that have any mentions of Britain's magical world. You can even get copies of specific radio showings. It predates all other resource facilities. All you have to do is say the name of the subject you want to research, or in this case, the person you want to research and everything held on them will be brought to you, in chronological order too." She added at the end, in a tone that showed how impressed she was.

Ron and Harry looked around the room with newfound respect.

"So, it's not just a library?" Ron said sheepishly.

"No, it's not." Hermione answered.

"I didn't know you were in the papers so many times." Harry commented, there were at least six copies.

Ron blushed a little.

"Yeah, well most of them were about, well, you know, the last battle." An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Harry was finding it hard to hide his surprise. Ron was involved in the last battle against Voldemort? How did that happen?

"What are these books about?" Ron asked, changing the topic.

"Three are about the last battle and the other is a condensed version of the Birth records." Hermione answered without opening either book.

Ron looked shocked at her.

"You've read them?!"

"Oh, Ron," Hermione laughed. A flick of her wand and the table was clear again, the papers and books returned to their locations with a soft pop. "What do you think I read at night?" she walked off the platform and headed for the door.

"You still read at night!?" Ron exclaimed as he followed her.

Harry stood alone on the platform. He looked around him again. The history of this world was all around him. Everything he wanted to know could be found here. All the things he couldn't ask anyone for fear of getting caught. He could learn what happened to Hagrid? He could look up Cho and find out what she was up to and even find out what Cedric was doing. He knew his dad was the Minister and knew that Cedric was probably right there by his dad's side. It would be good to see Cedric, to know that in this universe, he was alive and doing well.

"Harry? You coming?" Ron called from the door.

Harry nodded and walked off the platform. He kept thinking about what he would like to look up. He realised that he could even look up his counterpart's history, after all if Ron had his name in several newspapers for helping in the final battle, then being the one to defeat Voldemort, how many papers would Harry be in?

--

_**Canon World**_

The first night at Hogwarts found mostly everyone fast asleep. The travelling took a lot out of the students and the staff took the chance to sleep peacefully before their nights were filled with marking essays, planning lessons and carrying out detentions.

Gryffindor tower had all its occupants tucked into their four poster beds and the sound of soft snores could be heard from the common room. Only one Gryffindor was still awake, sitting upright in his bed, in the process of having a phone conversation with his brother, who happened to be in another universe.

"You couldn't have said anything else?" Harry asked, surprised that Damien bad mouthed Ginny in front of their dad.

"I couldn't come up with anything else!" Damien's voice sounded from the other end.

"You could have come up something that didn't make Ginny seem like she's got horns and a forked tail." Harry replied.

"What else could I have said? This was the only thing that sounded remotely believable." Damien explained. "In any case, I don't think dad believed me. He's still very suspicious."

Harry could hear the depression in his brother's voice and it made his heart leap uncomfortably. He hated how Damien made him feel guilty.

"It'll be over soon; this weekend will end the one month the compass needed to recuperate its energy. I'll be home soon." Harry assured him.

For the next few moments, Damien didn't speak. Then quietly, in a trembling voice, he asked Harry,

"What if…if it doesn't work? What will we do then?"

Harry had already asked himself the same question. The very first time the compass had failed to work, Harry had thought of a backup plan, to get himself back to his own world should the compass not work.

"If it doesn't work this time," Harry said in a calm voice, "then I'll have to find the same compass in this universe and use that one to get back."

"But how will you do that? You said that the compass belonged to Voldemort." Suddenly Damien realised what Harry was suggesting. "Harry, no! Don't even think about that! You're not going anywhere near Voldemort!"

"Damy…" Harry started.

"Harry! You can't! He's not the same. This Voldemort has been trying to kill you since you were a baby! If you go anywhere near him…!"

"Calm down, I know exactly how the Voldemort of this universe will react if I was to meet him. Don't worry; I'm not planning on meeting him. Besides, he might not even have the compass. A locator spell will tell me where the compass is. If it is by chance with Voldemort, then I can still get to it, without anyone finding out. Trust me, Damien, nothing bad will happen."

Damien huffed at that.

"Do you know how many times you've said that and the exact opposite happens?" he asked.

Harry smiled.

"Karma's a bitch." He replied.

xxx

The next morning, Harry woke up last. He lazily stretched and opted to stay in his bed while the others around him dressed noisily. Harry could hear Ron talking with the other boys.

"Harry? Are you up yet?"

Harry reluctantly pulled aside the hangings and peered out at him.

"Yeah, I'm up."

"Well, get a move on. We can't miss breakfast." Ron said, throwing Harry his set of robes.

Harry climbed out of bed and gathered up the things he needed. When he straightened up he caught the other boys staring at him.

"What?" Harry asked.

Seamus elbowed Dean as he opened his mouth to speak. Dean threw Seamus an annoyed look and turned back to speak to Harry.

"Had a good summer, Harry?" he asked.

"It was alright." Harry answered.

Dean shot a look at Seamus before finishing doing his tie. Harry quietly got dressed, ignoring the looks Seamus kept shooting his way. Neville, Harry noticed was under his bed, urging a 'Trevor' to 'please come out'. Shaking his head at the sight, Harry moved towards the door with Ron, his book bag clutched in his hand.

As soon as he walked into the Great hall, with Ron and Hermione on either side, Harry saw most of the occupants turn and stare at him. Ignoring them, Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down, pulling a plate closer and starting on his breakfast.

Shortly, Professor McGonagall handed out timetables to everyone. She didn't say anything to Harry or even look at him longer than necessary. In his world, McGonagall made a point of showing how much he annoyed her. Snickering quietly, Harry looked over his timetable.

"Blimey, would you look at this! History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defence Against the Dark Arts!" Ron complained. "This has got to be the worst Monday ever!"

"You said that last year too." Hermione told him distractedly.

"Well, this year I mean it!" he grumbled. "I'm not looking forward to Umbridge. Judging by that mind numbingly dull speech she droned out yesterday, paying attention to her lectures is going to be impossible."

Harry silently disagreed with Ron. The speech made by Umbridge had been very interesting. Her words like, '_progress for progress' sake must be discouraged_' and '_pruning wherever we find practises that ought to be prohibited_' were a clear indication to what was happening; The Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts.

Hermione had caught on to this as well and was spitting like a cat. Ron was, as always, oblivious and had to be told by Hermione what Umbridge's waffle really meant.

"I still can't believe she interrupted Professor Dumbledore like that," Hermione joined in. "she had no manners at all, the way she just got up while he was speaking."

Harry remembered the incident that had hushed the entire hall. The Headmaster had only looked surprised for a moment, but he covered up his reaction and sat down, allowing the toad of a woman to talk.

After breakfast, Harry was just leaving the hall when a tall girl blocked him. Harry recognised her instantly; it was Angelina, his Quidditch captain.

"Hey, Harry, looking good," she said smiling broadly at him. "Listen, I have some news. I've been named captain. We're having tryouts for Keeper, since Oliver has left. Make sure you're there at the tryouts on Friday, okay? Good! See you." With that she was gone. She had not given Harry a chance to utter a single word. Shaking his head at the girl's antics he walked away, wondering who the hell Oliver was?

xxx

History of Magic was just like the class in his world, boring and dull. Harry was glad to get away. He was suddenly hit with the realisation that his Potions class was next, but he had no idea who was teaching that class. He couldn't quite comprehend the idea of sitting in Hogwarts, attending a Potions class and not have him mum teaching them. He still had problems gripping onto the fact that there was no James and Lily Potter in this world.

He couldn't ask Ron or Hermione who the Potions Professor was, as the Harry in this world would know who the Potions Professor was, so he kept walking, keeping his mouth shut.

"Hi Harry!"

Harry looked up to see the same girl that had come into his compartment on the train. He remembered Ginny calling her Cho.

"Hi" Harry returned, wondering if the girl was a good friend of the other Harry.

"Hey, is that a Tornados badge?" Ron asked suddenly, pointing to a badge pinned to the girl's robes.

"Yes, why?" she replied.

"Since when are _you_ a Tornados fan?" Ron asked in an accusatory tone.

"Since I was _six_." Cho coolly replied. "Anyway…see you later, Harry." With that she was away.

Hermione was glaring at Ron.

"Why in Merlin's name were you interrogating her about being a Tornados fan?" she asked.

"I wasn't interrogating her; I was only asking her if she had always been a fan or if she had just jumped on the band wagon."

"Why does that matter? Couldn't you see she wanted to talk to Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I wasn't stopping her from talking to Harry. She could've talked to him! She _was_ talking to him!" Ron replied.

They continued to bicker all the way down to the dungeons.

xxx

Harry walked into the classroom, noting the Slytherins already seated. His eyes met the cold grey eyes of Draco Malfoy and the dirty look he got only made him snicker. Harry moved to the back of the classroom and sat down next to Ron and Hermione and waited for the unknown Professor to make an appearance. He idly wondered if they were any good at Potions.

"Settle down."

Harry's head jerked up as the cold voice rang in the dungeon classroom. Sure enough, there stood Severus Snape, clad in his usual dark robes, greasy shoulder length hair falling around him, hook nosed with cold onyx eyes, scanning the rooms occupants. His eyes met Harry's and for a moment both just stared at one another, shock present in both sets of eyes. Harry hadn't noticed him at the staff table last night. His intentions of not looking over at Dumbledore had made him ignore the rest of the staff as well. Snape, of course had seen Harry and his new look but never got a chance to really observe him. Now that he was sitting a mere few steps away, he could see the boy properly.

"Before we begin," Snape started on his lesson and gave out threats about the upcoming OWLS exams and so forth. Harry barely listened to it. He wasn't going to be around for the OWLS, he was damn sure about that. Harry glanced up at Snape again, surprised that the man was teaching Potions. He had never pegged him down as the Potions type; Harry didn't think he had the necessary precision and subtle talent for Potion making. He was a half decent Defence Professor, not that he was particularly good at that either…

"Mr Potter!"

Harry looked up to find Snape standing before him, the class was staring at him as well.

"Yes?"

Snape glared at Harry.

"Can you explain why you are not taking down the notes I have put up on the blackboard?" he asked.

Harry glanced at the board and saw the instructions for brewing the Draught of Peace.

"I was just going to…" Harry started.

"Yes, well 'going to' is not any good to me. I want you to 'do' your work not 'plan' on doing it later, at your own convenience." His lip curled and a very ugly look appeared in his eyes. "You may think you have impressed everyone with your 'makeover' but you fail to impress me, Mr Potter."

Malfoy snickered as well as a few other Slytherins. The Gryffindors were all praying Harry kept his mouth shut and didn't lose them any house points. It was the first day and they didn't want to start with a negative score.

"Unless your new look has somehow affected your ability to brew potions without error, I suggest you copy down the instructions." Snape turned and walked away, heading towards the front of the class.

"Professor?"

Snape stopped and turned around slowly to face a smirking Harry.

"I was going to say, that I was just going to point out that there seems to be an error in your instructions. You've got the same instruction 'add two drops of hellbore' twice."

Snape turned around to look at his instructions and sure enough there was the line written at two different points. Snape could have sworn that that wasn't there a moment ago. It wasn't like him to make a mistake like that. He turned and stared back at Harry, the class was staring at Harry too, wondering what would happen now that he had pointed out a mistake.

Snape stepped away from Harry and stormed back to the blackboard. He erased the wrong line and after a moment of thought he flicked his wand, making everyone's quills disappear from their hands, stopping those who were still taking down the notes. Hermione looked like someone had cut off her hand.

"You have an hour and a half," Snape hissed at them. "Start!"

Somewhere near Harry's right, he heard Neville whimper.

Harry looked back over to find his Professor's dark eyes fixed on him, loathing and hate filling them.

Harry smiled to himself and started preparing his cauldron.

xxx

Harry realised very soon why Snape had made the class take down notes first. The thick smoke emitting from the numerous cauldrons was making reading the blackboard very difficult. Harry watched as the students around him peered at the blackboard, squinting and making all sorts of faces, trying in vain to read the notes. Needless to say, the class was disastrous.

Harry looked down at his perfect potion. He knew how to brew the Draught of Peace potion by heart. That was how he had learnt all his potions. Lucius had never allowed a textbook in the potions lab. The instructions would be posted on the blackboard and exactly one hour later, they would start to fade. That was how Harry had learnt potion brewing.

Harry glanced over at Draco's cauldron and saw the perfect colour of the potion. He too had brewed it without a problem. The rest of the class, however, was a different story. Some were trying to mix a cement type potion, others were choking and coughing on foul smelling mixtures.

Snape was moving around the classroom, taking points away, from Gryffindor only, and degrading those who had managed to melt their cauldrons. He stopped at Harry's cauldron and looked down his long nose at Harry's potion.

"What is this, Potter?" he spat.

"The Draught of Peace." Harry answered calmly.

Snape stirred the potion, checking the consistency. He looked over at Hermione who was still adding the final touches to her potion, which was looking like it should be, if a little off colour.

"Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape hissed as he flicked his wand making Harry's potion vanish.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You have obviously cheated. Miss Granger would have no doubt helped you. Another ten points taken from Gryffindor." Another flick and Hermione's potion too disappeared.

"But sir, I never…" Hermione protested, near to tears.

"Not another word from you, Miss Granger. Be thankful I am not assigning you both detentions for cheating."

Snape walked away, bearing down on Neville, making the poor boy nearly faint in fear.

Hermione turned towards Harry.

"That's not fair, we didn't even che-" she broke off. "Harry?"

"What?" he bit out. He was still glaring at Snape.

"Nothing, it's…nothing. Must be the light in here," she said. "For a minute there, I thought your eyes had turned darker."

Harry instantly stilled, forcing all the anger and rage he was feeling towards the greasy haired Professor back down. He looked around at her to see Hermione staring at him, looking a bit unnerved.

"Must have been a trick of the light." Harry said, packing away his things.

"Yeah, must have been." Hermione said, picking up her things too. She didn't sound too sure though.

xxx

Harry had never been more grateful for the bell to ring. He had always loved Potions but Snape had just sucked all the enjoyment out of it. Harry was nearly out the door when Snape called to him.

"Mr Potter, a word please."

Ron and Hermione motioned to him that they would be waiting outside for him. Snape closed the door and turned around to face Harry.

"I heard the most peculiar thing lately," he said, walking over to stand behind his desk, arms crossed across his chest. "I heard that your different appearance is due to a potion mistake."

Harry leaned back to rest on the desk behind him.

"Your point?"

Snape's lip curled.

"Another ten points from Gryffindor for being cheeky!" He spat out. Harry looked like he couldn't care less. Ignoring him, Snape continued. "What potion, dare I ask, were you attempting to make when this happened." He asked, pointing a long finger at Harry.

Harry was certain he already knew but answered to humour him.

"Mind and body strengthening potion."

Snape suddenly had a cold sneer spread across his face. He moved so he was leaning across his desk.

"You see, Potter. That's just the thing. I have studied Potions for the longest of time and I have never come across anything to suggest that alternating ingredients could lead to a change in appearance."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Harry asked still eerily calm.

"I call you a lot of things, Potter, and yes, liar is one of them." Snape answered.

Harry moved away from the desk, straightening up. The sudden action made Snape lean away from his desk, a wary look crossed his features. Harry smiled at his reaction.

"Well, if I am lying, you'll never know." Harry replied.

"I already know, Potter!" Snape threatened.

"I severely doubt it." laughed Harry.

Snape straightened up as well, dark eyes glinting with suppressed anger.

"Do not make your situation worse by giving me cheek, Mr Potter." He warned. "You have two days to write down everything you put in that strengthening potion and hand it to me."

"Or what? You'll fail me again even if I've done the work?" Harry asked.

"You were cheating." Snape answered.

"Never done it in my life, don't intend on doing it now." Harry said sincerely.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the comment but didn't say anything about it.

"Hand in your instructions to your so called 'potion mistake' or you will have to answer to the Headmaster." Snape said softly.

Harry smiled at the threat. He knew that Dumbledore had put Snape up to this.

"Go and tell him I'm not going to do it. He won't look good with a six pack anyway." With that, Harry walked out of the door, leaving a gaping Snape behind him.

xxx

By the time Harry sat down for his last class, Defence Against the Dark Arts, he had had enough. As enjoyable as his argument with Snape had been, he didn't like being spoken to like that. Harry knew Snape hated him, that much was clear to see right away. But the Professor was unfair and picked on him to the point were Harry had to forcibly restrain himself from hurting the man. He glanced over at Hermione; she had noticed his eyes darken. That was not good. Harry could never quite control that power of his. If he let himself get carried away, he could blow his cover, as well as the whole of Hogwarts.

He resolved to keep his temper in check and not to let himself get worked up, that was until he had a class with Dolores Umbridge.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The return of the Cliffies! I know, you all hate cliffies, but I love them!! On the up side, I gave you guys a long chapter this time! Please review and let me know what you think. Cheers!!


	15. Dealings with Dolores

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to all those who reviewed! Here's the next chappie, Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen

_**AU World**_

The rain had started falling in small droplets by the time Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to get outside. The sun was still shining brightly so the drizzle didn't bother any of them as the set out to head in the direction of Hermione's home.

Harry was still deep in thought about the new method of researching. He was excited about all the things he could learn without risking his cover. The only problem was, how was he going to get the entry disk from Hermione? He didn't know if this worlds Harry was that close to this Hermione that he could ask her for it. He was sure Hermione wasn't supposed to give anyone her entry disk. The place wouldn't be that secure if it was meant for anyone to use. It was strictly for the researchers only.

They had just walked to the gates when Ron and Hermione suddenly stopped, jerking Harry from his thoughts.

"Oh, um, hi."

Harry looked up at the sound of Hermione's voice.

He stared at the person Hermione was greeting in shock, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Standing at the gates, holding a small box filled with what looked like packets of seeds, stood the tall and incredibly fit looking Neville Longbottom. Harry could only gape at the sight. The boy before him only faintly resembled the Neville Longbottom of Harry's own world. This Neville didn't have any puppy fat on him, none at all. He had a lean physique; the sleeveless top he was wearing showed his muscled arms. His hair was longer and fell into his eyes.

"Hermione, Ron," Neville greeted. He turned to face Harry, his eyes suddenly hardening. "Potter."

Harry was astonished at the change in his friend when he spoke to him. He referred to him as Potter, not Harry but Potter. He couldn't believe how much that small difference hurt.

"Neville." Harry returned.

He saw the surprise in Neville's eyes but there was no response.

"Still working on your fasal seeds?" Hermione asked, pointing at the box in his hands.

Neville looked at the box and smiled, very faintly.

"Yeah, not sure if anything will work this time, but I'll keep trying." He told her.

Harry realised the boy must have taken up a Herbology project, probably the one Hermione had to knock back. He felt reassured in a strange way, to know that at least some things were the same in both universes such as Neville's obsession with Herbology.

"Well, I better get going." Neville said, speaking to Hermione.

"See you around." Hermione said.

Neville walked away, not looking at Ron or Harry. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ron rounded on Hermione.

"You're speaking to him?" he asked her.

"Come on, Ron. He was our friend-"

"So is Harry!" Ron interrupted, gesturing to Harry.

"Harry doesn't have a problem with me speaking to Neville, do you, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"No, not all." Harry answered without thinking.

"See, Ron. Harry's not bothered. And really you should be on better terms with him as well, especially after Neville helped free Harry from the Ministry."

Harry's head shot up at that and he stared at Hermione as she and Ron continued to argue.

"He only did that because he owed Harry!" Ron answered.

"Maybe, he did. But he's trying to be civil, we should too." Hermione said.

Ron didn't say anything but continued to mumble words that suspiciously sounded like obscenities directed at Neville.

Harry didn't say anything for the rest of the journey. His mind was swimming with thoughts, all of them trying to offer reasons why Harry was arrested by the Ministry in the first place?

xxx

Damien couldn't help but worry. He kept praying that the blasted compass worked on Sunday. He didn't want his brother to risk looking for the compass in his new world. He didn't want Harry anywhere near Voldemort, it was too terrifying to even imagine.

"Damien? Damien?"

Damien jerked up to see his mum looking angrily at him. He glanced around to see the rest of the class staring at him too.

"Yes, Professor?" he replied.

"Your potion." She said, gesturing to the steaming cauldron.

Damien quickly lowered the flame under his black cauldron but it was already too late. His potion was already ruined.

Lily shook her head at him, clearly disappointed.

"A zero, Mr Potter." She told him regretfully, a wave of her wand and the potion disappeared.

Damien sat back on his seat, thoroughly miserable. Lily walked away, concentrating on the other students who had managed to brew the potion pretty well. Damien gathered up his things and packed his bag, not having anything else to do.

When the bell rang some five minutes later, Damien left the classroom before Lily could ask him to wait back. Lily watched the boy shoot out the door and felt the stab of worry in the pit of her stomach. There was something going on with him, Damien wasn't his usual self at all. He always looked worried these days.

Lily had to put on hold her concern for her youngest son since her next class flooded into the room, ready for the lesson.

xxx

Harry walked into his private quarters, head bowed, still puzzled over what he had learned today. He was therefore initially startled when he saw that someone was sitting in his room.

"Hey"

Harry relaxed when he saw that it was just Damien, sitting on the sofa next to the fireplace, his books scattered on the coffee table, a parchment resting on his lap, quill in hand; he was doing his homework.

Harry closed the door and walked inside.

"Hey, how did you get in?" he asked.

"I have my ways." The hazel eyed boy smiled. "I know your password." He explained.

"You do?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yeah, 'Prongs' isn't really a good password." Damien replied, putting down his quill. Harry smiled, looking slightly abashed. He sat down opposite Damien. "How was Hermione's place?" Damien asked.

"nice." Harry replied.

"Can't be that good if it only got one syllable." Damien remarked.

"No, it's not like that. Her place was brilliant. It's just that, we met up at her work and we bumped into Neville."

Damien suddenly understood and felt dread fill him. He was going to have to lie again.

"Oh, you did?" he said out loud.

"He didn't seem to like me very much." Harry said truthfully.

"What did he say to you?" Damien asked worriedly.

"Nothing, that's just it. He ignored me after calling me 'Potter'. He didn't even look at me. I got the impression he hates me, or rather he hates the Harry of this world."

Damien shifted in his seat, wondering what he could say this time to convince Harry.

"Neville has always been funny with Harry. I don't really know why. They just seem to get in each others way." Damien said.

Harry paused, wondering if he should question the comment about Neville helping free Harry from the Ministry. He was curious as hell about what had happened but he suddenly realised that asking Damien about it might not give him an answer. He had been thinking about everything he had been told about this world and this worlds Harry. Something just didn't add up.

He didn't say anymore to Damien. He knew the boy was keeping things from him. He now had a way to get the truth, the whole truth. He just had to figure out a way to get that disk from Hermione.

xxx

"I don't think that's right."

"Why?"

"I just don't."

"That's not a reason."

"It is, it doesn't look right."

James looked at his hand written plan and looked back at Harry.

"It looks perfectly fine to me." He returned.

Harry sighed and leaned forward over the table to point at the parchment.

"Dad, look at the food list. You have enough food to feed the whole of Hogwarts."

"Have you ever seen Sirius and Remus eat? They could easily finish this between the two of them." James joked.

Harry sat back with a smile. He silently loved this. He and his dad were planning Damien's fifteenth birthday party. It was to take place on the Astronomy tower, 'like always' his dad informed him and Harry was trying to finalise the food and decoration list. With a painful pang, Harry realised that he would be back in his world when the party actually happened. That was if the compass worked this time.

"I think it should be fine. I still say we should have exploding fireworks. They're so cool!" James said, writing them down on the parchment, even though Lily had scored through the last two times he had written them down.

"Urgh, no! No exploding fireworks. I'm not seven!" Damien said walking into the room.

"You're no fun!" James pouted as he erased his last sentence.

Damien joined the other two at James' desk and sat on the chair next to his dad.

"What do you have so far?" he asked.

"Have a look." James said handing the boy the parchment.

Harry watched as father and son went over the list. For the hundredth time, he silently thanked the other Harry for giving him a chance to be with family. Even if it was Damien's birthday they were planning, he still felt like he had an important part to play. His dad was involving him in everything. It felt wonderful.

"Harry, do you think this is okay?" James said highlighting the parchment and showing it to him.

Harry didn't even look at the parchment. He kept his eyes fixed on his dad, a smile on his face.

"Yeah, it's great." He replied.

Before James could say anymore, Harry's smile vanished and he let out a small gasp of pain before his hand flew to his forehead, and clutched at his scar.

---

_**Canon World**_

Harry flipped through his copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_, not even trying to read the material. It was painstakingly dull, not to mention very basic. Harry looked around him to see that he wasn't the only one bored out of his mind. The rest of the students were all looking just as fed up as him. Some were clearly daydreaming, the books opened in front of them, forgotten about.

Harry looked over at the Defence Professor, sitting at her desk, happily ignoring the students before her. He had her figured her out the moment she stepped into the classroom. She didn't know how to teach; she didn't know how to speak to them; she addressed them as if they were five years old, not fifteen. Two minutes into the lesson, she had verbally abused the previous professors, telling the class they were 'far below the standard' that the OWLS year students should be. Harry had barely stopped himself from snorting in response. That was an understatement. After boring them all with more waffle she told them to put away their wands and open their books. Her _lesson_ was nothing more than a boring reading exercise. Harry shook his head; he had to stop getting surprised at the tactics of Hogwarts. It had failed to impress him yet, in both worlds.

Harry caught sight of Hermione, sitting with her book closed before her, her hand in the air. Harry watched, intrigued with the fifteen year old Hermione's antics to catch her Professor's attention. A few minutes passed and the majority of the class had their attention fixed on Hermione. Professor Umbridge was trying her best to ignore her but as the class was now openly staring at Hermione and Umbridge, wondering who was going to give in first; she had no option but to address her.

"Do you have a question about the chapter, dear?" she asked in her overly sweet voice.

"No" Hermione answered.

"Well, I'm sorry but we're reading just now," Professor Umbridge said, tapping her copy of the textbook. "Questions can be answered at the end of class."

"I have a question about your course aims." Hermione pushed on.

Harry looked over at the blackboard that had the course aims written on it. Professor Umbridge had spelled them on the moment she walked in.

"They are perfectly clear to understand if you read them thoroughly." The Professor replied, her voice sugary sweet now.

"Well, I don't understand them," Hermione said. "They don't say anything about using defensive spells."

Professor Umbridge's eyes were fixed on Hermione, her fake smile plastered on her face.

"Your name is?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Miss Granger, I don't see why you would have the need to use defensive spells in my class. After all, who would attack children like yourselves."

At these words the class erupted.

"What! We're not going to use magic!" Ron exclaimed.

"That's not on! We need to learn how to cast the spells, not just read about them!" Dean moaned out loud.

"Students raise their hands if they wish to speak in my class." Professor Umbridge's girly voice rang in the room, this time though, her voice had an icy edge.

The class quietened down, though their expressions showed how annoyed they were. Harry was the only one who was not wearing a scowl on his face. He couldn't care less what was taught. He wasn't going to be here for long. Professor Umbridge rose out of her seat, walking around her desk to stand before her class.

"Now, the Ministry has devised a carefully constructed programme that will ensure you learn all you need to about Defence Against the Dark Arts. The new, proper, Ministry-approved programme will enable you all to pass your examination, which is what school is all about after all." She finished with a girly giggle.

A dozen hands shot in the air, making the Professor visibly tense up with annoyance.

"Miss Patil?" she said, pointing at the girl.

"Isn't there a practical bit in our exams? How are we supposed to pass that without learning the spells first?"

A murmur of agreement rippled through the class. Harry looked around him, amused with the debate.

"If you learn the material thoroughly, there is no reason why you can't perform the spells at the time of the examination." Professor Umbridge answered, clearly annoyed now.

"We're supposed to do the spells for the first time during our exams!? That's ridiculous!" Seamus piped up.

"Mr Finnegan, your hand is not up in the air." Professor Umbridge admonished. "I repeat, if the theory is learnt properly, there is no reason why you can't perform the spells at the time of the examinations." Professor Umbridge replied tightly.

"But that…" Hermione started.

"That is enough," Professor Umbridge's raised voice cut Hermione off mid sentence. "There will be no more discussion regarding the class's curriculum. The Ministry has put in place this programme for a reason. Your previous study of this subject has been unacceptable," her wide mouth spread in a smile and she continued, her girly, sweet voice returning. "I am not one to criticise others but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible and ill suited Professors in the past. Not to mention, extremely dangerous half-breeds." A nasty laugh escaped her at the end of her words.

"If you're talking about Professor Lupin, he happened to be the best Defence teacher we've had!" Dean said angrily.

"Hand, Mr Thomas!" Professor Umbridge said ignoring the boys comment.

Harry, who had stayed silent so far, felt something inside him stir. He didn't know Umbridge's dig at half breeds was directed at Remus.

"I will not say this again, I have repeated it too many times already today," Umbridge said, "your teachings in this class have been irregular and dangerous. You have been subjected to lessons not appropriate to your age group. The Ministry has come up with a way for you to learn defensive spells in a secure, risk free way that will be more than sufficient to pass the examina-" she stopped talking as the sound of a low chuckle reached her. Stunned, she stared at the source with wide eyes.

The students turned in their seats to see Harry, laughing quietly with his head lowered.

"Mr Potter?" Harry looked up at the Professor. "Why are you laughing?" she asked clearly appalled at his behaviour.

Harry leaned back in his seat, keeping his eyes fixed on the toad like face of his Professor.

"I just find the Ministry and their 'new' programme of study highly amusing. At a time when everyone should be working harder to better themselves, especially in Defence Against the Dark Arts, the Ministry is making it all that bit harder to actually learn anything. Teaching defensive spells in a 'secure and risk free' environment is not only pointless, but a waste of time. Any attacks that happen won't ever happen in a 'secure a risk free' environment. I guess it shouldn't be surprising, not really, considering the Ministry's attitude has always been to bury its head in the ground and ignore all threats, hoping it just goes away. Well, some threats don't go away. Voldemort happens to be one of them." 

The collective intake of breath echoed throughout the classroom. For the first few moments, Professor Umbridge didn't speak. Her eyes were fixed on Harry, as were the rest of the class, not daring to look away from him. Slowly, she came out of her daze.

"Forty points, Mr Potter, for speaking out of turn about the Ministry."

Harry shrugged openly, making the boys next to him gasp in shock. Professor Umbridge continued, her eyes finally shifted from Harry's face to scan the room.

"Now listen to me carefully. You have all been told that a certain Dark wizard has come back from the dead. This is a lie." she said slowly and loudly, taking care to say each word properly.

Harry felt a deep sense of annoyance at the Professor. How long were these idiots going to lie to themselves?

"Perfectly healthy seventeen year olds don't drop dead of their own accord, Professor." Harry said, just as loudly and clearly. "If you claim Voldemort is not back, then how to you explain Cedric Diggory's death?"

An eerie silence fell on the room. The students were all watching Harry, noting the calmness he spoke with regarding Cedric's death. Hermione was hardly blinking as she stared at Harry.

"What happened to Cedric Diggory was a tragic accident-" Umbridge began.

"It was murder." Harry cut her off, his voice cold and uncaring.

Harry didn't know who Cedric Diggory was; he had never met the boy, but he knew that the boy had been murdered by Voldemort. The Harry of this universe had told him everything the first time they had met. It fuelled his anger to no limits when people refused to believe Voldemort had returned even after the murder of Cedric Diggory.

Professor Umbridge didn't speak right away. She lowered herself into her seat and clasped her hands across her neatly. When she spoke, it was her sugary sweet voice that carried over to Harry.

"Detention, Mr Potter, for one week."

"My crime?" Harry asked, still in his forced calm.

"Telling lies" she responded sweetly, a smile of her wide face.

xxx

Harry was very proud of himself. He had refrained from blasting that toad woman into a million little pieces in the middle of the Defence classroom. Instead, he had calmly accepted the detention from her.

"Wish you saw me now, dad. You would be proud." Harry muttered to himself as he sat in the Great Hall having his dinner.

Hermione, Ron and Neville were busy calling Umbridge all the names under the sun.

"She's just horrid!" Ron said, his food forgotten before him. "I don't know why Dumbledore hired her as our teacher. We won't learn anything from her."

"I don't think he did hire her," Hermione answered. "I heard a rumour that no one was taking up the position, since the last four Professors have either ended up sacked, dead, medically insane or kissed by a Dementor. I bet you anything, Professor Dumbledore was pressurised into hiring her by the Minister since he couldn't find someone in time for the start of term."

Harry figured she was probably right. He looked up at the staff table to see the Headmaster, he was eating quietly, his eyes cast at his plate, but Harry had a feeling he had been looking in his direction only moments before.

"I can't believe she called you a liar," Neville said, bringing Harry's attention back to the table. Harry shrugged, preferring not to talk to Neville. "My Gran says that Dumbledore is a great wizard and if Dumbledore says You-Know-Who is back, then he is back. There's no point in denying It." he said with a little nod.

Harry looked away from him in response, playing with his food. He kept his opinion of Dumbledore to himself.

xxx

On the evening of Harry's first detention, ever, he arrived at the Professor's door and knocked once before entering. He walked into her room and stood by the door. It was impossible to keep the look of revolution away from his face. Everywhere he looked, the colour pink assaulted his eyes. Even the walls were pink and covered in portraits of kittens, most of which were running away from the sight of Harry.

"Come in, Mr Potter."

Harry glanced at the short witch, sitting behind her perfectly organised desk. Harry strolled in, dropping his bag next to the only desk and chair, in the middle of the room. He sat down, without being told and stared cheekily at Umbridge.

She looked slightly taken aback but recovered.

"Good evening, Mr Potter." She tried.

Harry's smirk was the only response she got and she didn't push for a greeting. Instead she cleared her throat and addressed him.

"For your detention, you will be doing some lines for me. It's important for you to understand that you can't spread nasty lies."

Harry didn't respond and continued to sit, quite comfortably in his chair. After a deliberate pause, Harry bent low and pulled out his quill and parchment.

"Oh no, dear. You are to use this quill. It's rather special and perfect for this punishment." Umbridge said, sounding more confident now.

The word 'punishment' made Harry's stomach clench painfully. He got up and walked over to the woman. As he approached her she held out a thin black quill, with a sharp end. Harry took the quill from her, rolling the thin quill between his fingers. He knew what he was holding. He had read about them and Bella had even showed him one once. She told him her father would make Marco, her brother, use a Blood Quill if he ever disobeyed him. Harry knew they were illegal and never in his life did he imagine seeing one in Hogwarts.

Harry glowered at the Professor before him, as she sat grinning widely at him. He couldn't believe the woman would really use something as horrid as the Blood Quill on a student, a mere fifteen year old child.

"Take this, Mr Potter and return to your seat." Umbridge said, looking like she was enjoying every minute of this detention.

Instead of returning to his seat, Harry unexpectedly leaned closer to the Professor. Surprised, Professor Umbridge backed up.

"Mr Potter! What are you doing?" she exclaimed.

But Harry didn't answer. His green gaze was fixed on her, making her skin crawl with trepidation. Suddenly his hand shot out near her head, his fingers brushing against her forehead. Stunned, she let out a small girly scream. Harry pulled his hand back.

"Mr Potter! What do you think you are doing?!" she asked.

Harry held up his hand, showing a small red coloured insect, resting in the palm of his hand.

"It was a bug, Professor. It was in your hair."

Professor Umbridge ran a hand over her curly hair.

"Oh, well, thank you for…that. But, please, get back to your seat and start your detention." She told him, clearly shaken.

Harry obeyed and walked back to his seat. He sat down, still holding the quill. Once he was seated he turned to the witch.

"What do you want me to write?" he asked his voice perfectly polite.

"I must not tell lies." Umbridge replied, her voice back to its usual sweetness.

Harry's eyes darkened a shade, but he calmed himself instantly. With a smirk, he lowered his head, putting the quill to paper, and began to write.

xxx

It was well over an hour before Harry returned to the common room. He was surprised to see both Ron and Hermione awake and waiting for him.

"Why are you both up?" he asked as he walked over to them.

"We couldn't sleep, not without seeing what that toad made you do for detention!" Ron said, sitting up in his chair.

"It was nothing." Harry said, sitting down in the chair next to the dying fire.

"What did she have you do?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Lines" Harry replied.

"Oh, well that's not too bad, is it?" Ron replied.

Harry smiled.

"No, it wasn't bad at all."

Hermione looked at Harry with a worried glance.

"But really, Harry. You shouldn't provoke her. You were lucky she only made you write lines. She could be a lot worse next time."

"Hermione, she was basically calling Harry and Professor Dumbledore a liar. How is Harry supposed to keep quiet about that?" Ron asked. Then turning to Harry he added. "You were brilliant though. Insulting the Ministry like that, you could see how annoyed she got!"

"Why did you say all that stuff about the Ministry?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Because it's the truth." Harry stated simply. "You can't tell me you really believe in the Ministry after the way they have been behaving? They have all the proof they need that Voldemort is back," Harry rolled his eyes as the other two had severe reactions to the Dark Lord's name, "and yet they still refuse to put in practises to help them win against him."

Ron and Hermione looked a lot more serious now. Both sat in worried silence.

"He really is out there, isn't he?" Hermione asked in a whisper, facing the large windows, watching the fierce rain pound at them.

"He's always been out there, Hermione." Harry replied. "You just didn't have to face him until now."

Hermione gave an involuntary shudder. Ron just looked paler than usual. Harry felt a twinge of regret for them. He could see the fear in them clearly, and Harry knew, probably better than anyone, that their fear was well placed.

xxx

The door closed with a thud and the chattering students hushed instantly. Most had already taken out their _Defensive Magical Theory_ textbook, judging by their last Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, this lesson was going to be spent reading Chapter two.

However, the students paused in the act of opening their books when they saw the strange attire their Professor was wearing. Hermione frowned at the sight of Professor Umbridge supporting a large pink hat. The atrocious head garment was so large it hid almost all of the Professor's face. Only her wide mouth was visible under the hat.

Harry watched with deep seated satisfaction as the Professor clumsily made her way over to the blackboard. The students started whispering to one another, asking why the woman was wearing such silly hat.

"Start reading Chapter two, there will be no need for any talking!" the high pitched voice screeched at them. The tone of her voice and the absence of her usual morning greeting alerted the class to the fact that Professor Umbridge was in a foul mood.

Still that didn't stop Parvati from asking,

"Erm, Professor Umbridge? Why are you wearing such a big hat?"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" Umbridge snarled back, sitting down at her desk with a loud thump.

Parvati looked apologetically at her fellow Gryffindors. No one seemed to mind the loss of points, as all of them were itching to find out why she was wearing that hat too.

Harry was having the most fun he had had since he came to this universe. He was enjoying every minute of this. He waited until the class had abandoned their books and were staring at the Professor, before acting.

His finger twitched in the smallest of actions and suddenly the large pink hat flew from Umbridge's head, falling behind her chair.

Professor Umbridge let out a small shriek and tried to get her hat again, but it fell out and away from her reach. She would have to get up and out of her seat if she wanted her hat again. By then, it was too late. Everyone had seen why she was wearing a large pink hat.

The gasps that echoed in the room made Harry grin. It was only moments before the class erupted in fierce laughter. The boys were smacking their hands on the desks, laughing harder than ever. The girls were joining in, pointing at the pink faced woman and giggling like mad.

Harry had his gaze fixed on the woman standing before them, a satisfied smirk on his face.

On the Professor's forehead, written in what seemed like red ink were the words, _I must not be a pain in the ASS_. The last word was written right between the eyes and was bigger than the rest of the words, making it stand out. The words were shining and stood proud against the pale skin of the Professor.

The woman had grabbed her hat and pushed it against her head, concealing the message that had been carved into her forehead. Professor Umbridge glared at Harry fiercely as he openly smirked at her. She tore her eyes away from him and tried to control her class.

"Stop it! I order you to stop laughing immediately!" she screamed but it did nothing to the hysterical students. "Detention, to all of you!" she threatened but even that did nothing to quieten them.

Only one student was not laughing and giggling and that was Hermione Granger. She had her eyes fixed not to the embarrassed woman before them, but to the boy sitting to her right, looking immensely pleased.

Hermione stared at Harry, noting the unusual look he had in his eyes as he sat smirking at Professor Umbridge. Harry never looked at anyone like that. The moment Hermione had seen the message on the Professor's forehead she had turned to look at Harry and she had seen the satisfied look on his face. She could clearly see the pleasure on his face as he watched the woman embarrass herself. She never thought Harry could ever take such enjoyment from someone's grief, even if it was Professor Umbridge.

Professor Umbridge couldn't control the class; even shooting sparks from her wand did nothing to calm them down. She had to run out eventually to get away from the sound of laughter. After she was gone, the students calmed down, although most kept on sniggering.

"Merlin, who wrote that on her head!? That was bloody brilliant!" Dean asked.

"I don't who it was but that was the best prank ever!" Ron said, silently hoping it was Fred or George.

"Why didn't she just conceal it with a charm?" Lavender asked, passing Parvati a tissue so she could wipe the tears, laughing had caused, from her eyes.

"It probably didn't work. I can't see that hat being the first choice for her." Seamus laughed.

The students kept giggling and wishing they could find the person who was responsible for embarrassing the annoying toad of a woman.

"Whoever it is, it was a job well done!" Seamus laughed.

Hermione watched as Harry didn't respond but a definite smile spread across his face.

xxx

That evening, all that anyone spoke about was the message on Umbridge's forehead.

"I heard that she woke up in the middle of the night with a burning pain in her head," a sixth year Gryffindor girl was saying. "She ran to the Infirmary but Madame Pomfrey couldn't help her. Nothing worked to heal her. No potions, no concealment charms, not even glamour."

"But how did it happen?" a blonde haired girl asked her friend.

"I don't know but it's actually quite serious." The first girl continued. "It's not written on her head but carved into her skin. That's just horrible!"

Hermione turned away from the conversation, not wanting to hear anymore. Their class had been reprimanded by Professor McGonagall who had walked into their Defence class after Professor Umbridge ran out. Now they all had an extra essay to hand to her as punishment for ridiculing their Professor. Although, for a faint moment she had looked amused herself but that could have been a trick of the light.

Hermione turned to look at Harry, as he sat with Ron and Ginny, talking quietly to them. He hadn't remarked about the Professor at all, not a single comment.

"Harry," she started, drawing his attention. "You didn't see anything when you went for your detention last night did you?"

Harry stared at Hermione before answering.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You were probably the last one to meet Professor Umbridge before she went to bed. There's a rumour going around that she woke up in the middle of the night with the message carved on her forehead. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Hermione asked.

"Not a thing." Harry answered.

"Hermione, what are you asking?" Ron asked across the table.

"Nothing," Hermione answered quickly. "I'm just wondering if he saw anyone, you know, playing a prank on her."

"So what if he did?" Ron retorted. "She deserved it. She _was_ being a pain in the ass!"

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded.

"I'm telling the truth. She was horrible and I heard that the message on her head was actually from a Blood Quill, that's what Madame Pomfrey said in her report. She had a Blood Quill and it backfired on her." Ron said.

"How do you know that?" Ginny asked.

"Fred said that Lee told him that Jason heard it from Debra who was at the hospital wing with Sharon when Madame Pomfrey was speaking to Professor Snape about a possible potion to help heal the scars caused from a Blood Quill."

Ginny looked lost but nodded her head anyway.

"Okay" she said uncertainly.

"So you see, Umbridge deserved it. She must have used the Blood Quill on someone but it backfired on her." Ron finished, taking a massive bite of his roasted chicken sandwich.

Hermione suddenly swerved around to look at Harry. Their last night's conversation came back to her.

"_What did she have you do?" Hermione asked with concern._

"_Lines" Harry replied._

"_Oh, well that's not too bad, is it?" Ron replied._

_Harry smiled._

"_No, it wasn't bad at all."_

Hermione felt her heart hammer at her insides. Lines, Harry was supposed to have done lines for detention. Was it possible that he had used the Blood Quill but it backfired? But the question was, how did the quill backfire? Harry didn't know that kind of magic; to reverse the effects of an object onto someone else. Did he?

Harry saw the look in Hermione's eyes and quickly looked away. He could have guessed that if anyone was to figure him and his truth out, it would be Hermione.

xxx

Harry walked to his second detention of the week. He was actually looking forward to this. Without knocking, he walked into Professor Umbridge's room to find her sitting at her desk, a mirror in her hand. She looked up from the mirror and glared at Harry hatefully.

"Good evening, Professor." Harry said with a grin.

"You!" Professor Umbridge spat, getting up from her seat.

"Yes, me." Harry responded innocently.

"You did this to me!" she cried.

Harry laughed.

"Now, now, Professor. You're getting carried away. How can I have possibly done this to you?" Harry asked.

"You'll pay! I won't let you get away with this! You'll be expelled! I'll make sure of it!" Professor Umbridge cried out.

Harry walked further into the room, making the woman shut up at once.

"If you were going to have me expelled, you would have done so by now," Harry told her calmly. "You can't do anything to me, because you can't prove I did anything to you."

Umbridge stood in silence, listening to her student with growing fear.

"You can't do anything. If you go to the Headmaster to complain about me, you will have to firstly admit that you made me use a Blood Quill, which you know perfectly well are illegal." Harry smirked as he went on. "if by chance they don't throw you out straight away for torturing a student, they will never believe that a fifth year student was able to reverse the effects back onto a Professor." Harry finished.

"How did you do it?" Umbridge asked quietly. "I saw your hand last night; the quill had worked on you. How did you do it!?" she asked, shaking with anger.

"Do what?" Harry asked with exaggerated innocence. "If you think that I performed a delay charm on the quill before directing the quill's effect on you and then wrote that message that is on your forehead instead of the lines you gave me, before applying a fake irritation charm on my own hand, then you're mistaken."

Umbridge was standing with her chubby hands balled into fists, unable to speak a single word. Finally she managed to hiss at him,

"Cornelius was right about you! You are not as innocent as you appear to be!"

Harry shrugged her away.

"I'm not innocent at all." He corrected her lazily. "Now, as for my detention, do you want another repeat performance of last night?" he asked, pointing to the desk and chair.

The witch turned pink with suppressed rage.

"Get out!" she hissed at him. "Get out! Get out!" she shrieked.

With a laugh, Harry turned to the door.

"If you insist."

With that Harry opened the door and walked out, leaving behind him an almost sobbing witch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please Review!! Much anticipated action to come in the next chapter!! Please review so I can get it out soon!! Cheers!!


	16. The Malfoys

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Hey everyone! Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed! Here's the next chappie. It's a really, really long one so, Enjoy!

Warning! Extreme violence and some unpleasant scenes.

**Chapter Sixteen**

_**AU World**_

Harry recovered only moments later from the sudden pain in his scar. His scar had hurt before, it had been hurting all summer but this was the first time it had hurt since he came to this new universe. Along with the sharp blinding pain, Harry felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach. It felt like his stomach had done a summersault.

Blinking away the pain, Harry lowered his hand and looked up to find a very worried looking James and Damien staring at him. Harry hadn't been aware that James had left his seat and was right by his side.

"Harry, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Harry couldn't respond. He suddenly felt very sick; his panic was making his stomach clench painfully. He had reacted to his scar hurting in front of his dad. How would he explain this? The other Harry didn't have a scar, as he was never hit with Voldemort's killing curse. So how was Harry going to explain himself?

Harry had broken out into a sweat. His eyes darted to Damien, a silent plea for help. But Damien was looking pretty worried himself. His eyes were fixed on a pale James, waiting for the inevitable.

James put a hand on Harry's shoulder, making the boy's heart beat twice as fast.

"Harry," James started, his voice shaky and quiet. "Was it…was it your…scar?" he asked.

Harry looked straight into James' eyes with surprise. He knew about the scar? Did that mean that the other Harry has a scar as well? But how was that possible? The other Harry had said that his family was never attacked at Godric's Hollow that night on Halloween, Voldemort never broke into their home, he never killed James and Lily, he never pointed his wand at a one year old Harry and uttered the killing curse, there was no curse that hit Harry and rebounded back on Voldemort; so how did Harry get a scar?

His silence was misinterpreted and James' face rapidly lost colour.

"Oh God!" came the terrified response.

"No, dad, it wasn't my scar." Harry quickly said, forcibly snapping himself out of his surprise.

"Don't lie, Harry. I saw you." James said, his eyes darting to the lightening shaped scar.

"No, I just got a sudden pain in my head, it wasn't my scar." Harry said, trying to sound honest.

Damien stood quietly behind them, feeling nauseated by the situation. How long was the lies going to last? Very soon, everything would be out in the open.

James didn't look like he believed Harry but he reached out and placed a hand on Harry's forehead, to check his temperature. Harry tried to ignore the way his dad's hand was shaking.

"Are you feeling ill?" he asked, willing his voice to return to normal.

Harry nodded, keeping his eyes from meeting his dad. He was a rubbish liar.

"I feel a little sick." He mumbled.

"You better go and lie down then. Here, take some pain relief." James said, opening his side drawer and handing him a vial.

Harry took the offered potion but didn't drink it right away. He made to go towards the door, heading for his own room but James stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Rest here, I want to make sure you're okay."

Not fighting the idea, Harry moved to the couch, watching as James transfigured it into a bed, with a pillow and quilt as well. Harry crawled into the comfortable bed and lay down, a hundred and one thoughts racing through his confused mind.

xxx

Harry hadn't meant to fall asleep. How he had drifted off was beyond him? He woke up rather abruptly and realised that he was in his dad's room, still in the transfigured bed. He pulled aside the covers and climbed out. He looked around the empty room, wondering how long he had been asleep.

Harry quietly left the quarters, hoping Damien was around so he could ask him what the hell was going on. Why did his counterpart have the same scar as him if things happened differently here? Harry now knew that the faint scar on his forehead was not his own scar fighting through the glamour, as he had previously thought. It was the actual scar, belonging to the Harry Potter of this universe. It was faint probably because this world's Voldemort was dead. But Harry couldn't understand why he had the scar in the first place. It made no sense. He had the scar because his mum sacrificed herself to save his life, thus giving him protection from Voldemort's killing curse. The rebounded curse was what gave him his scar. But Lily Potter was alive in this world, so why did his counterpart have the same scar? And judging by his dad's reaction earlier, it seems that the other Harry's scar used to play up as well.

Harry walked out of the quarters and was heading for his own quarter when he heard the faint sound of his mum's voice. It was coming from the direction of her quarters. Quietly, Harry walked over to the door, just on the other side of James' quarters and stood before the door.

He was about to knock the door and interrupt when he caught some of the conversation happening. He listened intently, hoping it may answer some of his questions.

"…he was lying, I can tell. It was his scar that had hurt." James' voice came from behind the door.

A moment of silence before Lily's choked voice was heard.

"What does that mean? You don't think that…that…" Lily couldn't finish. For the next few moments no one spoke, Harry strained his ears to catch the conversation. In a low whisper, Lily asked, "what if Harry was wrong? The Horcruxes, no one knew for sure what they were. What if, if, maybe, one of them was false? What if there's still one left."

Harry didn't know what a Horcrux was, he was certain the word was never mentioned in any lessons at Hogwarts. But from the tone of voice his mum used, it sounded like a frightful thing.

"That's what I fear too." Came James' voice.

Harry could hear the fear in his voice and it made his heart beat painfully fast.

"He can't come back." Lily whispered, making chills run down Harry's back. "Not after everything that's happened, he's gone, there was nothing left of him. How can he come back?" she asked, her voice threatening hysteria.

Footsteps were echoed and Harry heard a muffled sob. He assumed his dad had walked over to hug his mum and was comforting her.

"He's not back," James said loudly. "Our fears are meaningless. Harry was thorough in his research. He worked everything out before destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes. He never left any of them. I'm most certain of that."

"But, his scar hurting…James, what are we going to do?" Lily asked, through sobs.

"I'll speak to Dumbledore. He should know about this. You remember what he told us about Harry's scar, his connection to Voldemort through his scar was endangering his life. Maybe, maybe his scar hurting has something to do with that." James told her.

"But why is it hurting? If Voldemort has gone, Harry's scar should never hurt." Lily asked.

"I don't know, Lily," James admitted. "But I'm going to find out." He promised. A moment of pause and then James spoke again, his tone softer. "He's not back, Lily. I can't even think about him coming back. Our life has just started being somewhat normal. If Harry had to ever face him again…I'm not losing Harry, not again, never again."

Harry pulled himself away from the door. He quietly walked back to his room. He had thought eavesdropping on his parents' conversation would have cleared things up but he only ended up more confused. He sat on his bed, trying to piece together what he had learned.

Harry had killed Voldemort; he already knew that. But Harry had used something, Horcruxes, he had destroyed Horcruxes that were somehow linked to Voldemort. His scar used to hurt and Professor Dumbledore had told them that his scar was linked to Voldemort. Harry ran a finger over his own scar, hating to admit the truth that he had a connection to Voldemort.

What Harry couldn't understand was the words his dad spoke at the end; something about not wanting to lose Harry, not to lose him _again_. What did that mean?

Harry spent most of the night pondering over the possible meanings of that statement. It was almost daybreak before Harry rolled to his side and allowed his frazzled mind to switch off and go to sleep. His only reassurance was that he would soon know everything. All he had to do was get that disk from Hermione.

xxx

Harry woke up just before noon the next day. He sat up in his bed, blearily looking at the clock on the far wall. His eyes widened with surprise that he had slept in for so long. He scrambled out of his bed, knocking into the small bedside drawer, sending his night lamp smashing to the ground.

"Bugger!" Harry swore, bending over to pick up the broken lamp.

He piled the pieces back on the drawer and that was when he noticed the parchment with the messy scrawled note.

'Just checking on you. Your temperature is normal. I didn't have the heart to wake you for breakfast. Come and see me when you're up. Love dad.'

Harry ran through his morning routine as quickly as he could and was running to the Great Hall, intending to meet his dad for Lunch. He hoped being surrounded by the rest of the school might mean his dad wouldn't ask any awkward questions, regarding last night.

He ran into the hall, hair still wet and messy. He slowed down his pace when he met the stares of the students. He looked over at Damien as he passed by the Gryffindor table. The boy was looking at him warily, a bit of concern showed in his eyes.

Harry slowed down, almost to a standstill when he saw that his dad was seated next to the Headmaster, both were conversing quietly. Their eyes shifted to him and Harry found himself staring back at them. His dad gave him a genuine smile, pulling away from Dumbledore, straightening up in his seat. Harry chose to sit next to his mum, he didn't want to be near Professor Dumbledore just now, he feared the powerful wizard may be able to see right through him and his lies.

xxx

Damien waited to speak to Harry, keeping himself partially hidden in an alcove near the Great Hall. He saw his dad leave for class, his mum was still hanging around in the hall, talking to Harry no doubt, or maybe Dumbledore.

Damien swallowed the fear back down, not allowing himself to wonder just how bad things could get. If Professor Dumbledore got involved in the investigation of why Harry's scar hurt, he would no doubt realise sooner rather than later, that Harry was not from this world. Damien forcibly shook away the mental picture of his parents' furious expressions. He would suffer, really suffer, if his parents found out the truth. His dad would never forgive him and never again would he be trusted, with anything. And as for his brother, Harry, Damien didn't even want to imagine what would happen between his dad and brother. There was a conversation, he hoped never happened.

Damien snapped out of these thoughts when he saw Harry appear in the corridor. His mum was following him out and for a moment, Damien thought Harry was going to walk along with her. Thankfully, they walked in opposite directions Lily heading for the dungeons to teach her next class, and Harry was heading towards the main door, intending to go outside.

Damien moved quickly, leaving the shadows of his hiding place and followed Harry. He caught up with him just as he stepped outside. Harry was surprised with the sudden appearance of the other Potter.

"Damien? Where did you come from?" he asked.

"I was following you." Damien replied shortly. "We really need to talk." He added.

"Don't you have class?" Harry asked.

"It's okay; it's only History of Magic. Binns won't even notice I'm gone." Damien replied.

The two boys headed towards the Forbidden Forest, Harry noticed the absence of Hagrid's hut; it stuck out like a sore thumb. Again he wondered where his friend was in this world.

They reached just the outskirts of the forest but didn't go any deeper. The first think Damien asked when certain they were alone was;

"Are you okay?"

Harry was surprised to see the concern in him.

"I'm fine." He answered.

"What did dad say after I left last night?" Damien asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"Nothing. I actually fell asleep. I was working so hard pretending to be asleep that I actually managed to doze off. When I woke up, he was gone."

Damien breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh God! I was so worried he was going to badger you with questions. I was half expecting you to be dragged to Madame Pomfrey for a check up."

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

"Mum suggested that to me just now."

"You can't…" Damien started.

"I know because then Madame Pomfrey might do a proper check up and realise that I don't have an addiction to sleeping potion anymore. I figured that out." Harry said eyeing Damien carefully. Damien blushed a little but didn't say anything. He nodded his head in agreement. "Are you going to tell me?" Harry asked after a moment of silence.

"What?" Damien asked.

"Why Harry has a scar that links him to Voldemort." Harry asked coolly.

Damien looked away, a multitude of emotions running through him.

"It's complicated." He finally answered.

"How can Harry have a scar if he was never attacked?" Harry pushed on. He waited for a response but none came. Harry noticed the way the boy refused to even look at him. "You're not telling me something," Harry said quietly, knowing he was right. Damien looked up at him with a tired look, not fighting the accusation. "What are you keeping from me?" Harry asked.

Damien stared past Harry, taking in the scenery of the huge castle, focusing on anything but the current predicament he was in. when did his life get so bloody complicated?

"Damien?"

Damien looked back at Harry, noting the look of growing annoyance on his face.

"I'm not keeping anything from you, Harry." He lied again, hating the words as they left him.

Harry didn't say anything, but Damien could tell he didn't believe him.

xxx

The weekend came quickly for Harry and the Saturday found him with James, Sirius and Remus in the middle of Diagon Alley. Harry walked along the street, his dad and godfather on either side of him. Lily, Tonks and Damien were sitting in a café, on the other end of Diagon Alley. They two ladies didn't want to accompany the men. Damien, well, he didn't want to go anywhere with Harry; ever since their little conversation by the Forbidden Forest, Damien had been avoiding Harry as much as possible.

The only other conversation that had taken place since that day was this morning, when Damien had reminded Harry what was happening tomorrow. Harry didn't want to think about what was happening tomorrow. They were going to try the compass again this Sunday, if it worked he would be going back home, away from his parents

.

Harry was hoping against hope the compass failed to work. It wasn't just the fact that he wanted to spend a little longer with his parents but also that he hadn't had the chance to see Hermione yet and get the disk from her. He couldn't even think about leaving without all the answers. His conversation with Damien by the Forbidden Forest was a clear indication that he was being kept in the dark about something. That fact didn't sit too well with him.

Harry tried not to think about Damien but that was difficult as he was currently supposed to be buying a gift for the boy for his upcoming fifteenth birthday. James had suggested that now was a good time to buy the boy's gift and Harry couldn't really disagree with him. Harry had already been to the bank to take out a deposit. Harry mentally reminded himself to reimburse the other Harry when he got back to his world. His dad had handed him his key and Harry was led to the vault. However, Harry was not quite prepared to see the state of the vault.

There were mountains of gold and silver inside. Harry was left gaping at the sight. Back home, he had a small fortune his parents had left behind for him but compared to this, his fortune seemed ridicules. Harry noted the stacks and stacks of galleons piled in all given space, a few very expensive looking jewels were spotted amongst the mountain of gold as well.

Harry took out what he needed and left, looking a little dazed. He wondered how much his dad earned as an Auror, to be able to put that much away for his son.

"Look here, what about this?" Sirius asked as he pointed at the new broom, sitting on display at the window.

"No, Lily will go nuts if he gets another broom." James replied.

Sirius pulled a face.

"What has she got against Quidditch?" he asked.

"Nothing, she says her problem is us _playing_ Quidditch." James answered, making Remus and Harry grin.

They walked further on, suggesting different things as possible gifts.

"Why don't you buy him a pet?" Remus suggested. "He doesn't have an owl, or a toad."

Harry peered through the window, scanning over the brown feathered owls which were staring back at him with their amber eyes.

"I don't know." Harry said, wondering if the boy would appreciate a pet or not.

He didn't know if Damien was that connected to animals. Harry suddenly realised that he didn't know Damien at all. He had been here for almost two months now and he hadn't gotten to know his brother. He had spent a lot of time with his parents but he never took the opportunity to get to know Damien. Feeling guilty, Harry started looking for Damien's present with new vigour.

xxx

An hour later found the four men heading back to the café, to pick up Lily, Tonks and Damien and then they would set off back to Hogwarts. Harry had really enjoyed the day with his family. He thought to himself that if this was his last day with his family, it was well spent.

They were still at least ten minutes away from the café when Harry found himself halting in the middle of the street. He had been talking with Sirius and was rather oblivious to the two figures until they had suddenly blocked their path.

The first thing that Harry noticed was that one was dressed in long, poison-green robes, the other one was dressed in ivory robes. His attention was drawn to the one dressed in green. It was then that he saw the thin pointed face, pale skin, sharp grey eyes and sleek blond hair, brushed back neatly. Harry's eyes widened with surprise. 'Malfoy?'

Harry stared at the tall, eighteen year old Draco Malfoy. He looked really different. Not only because he was older, but because his face looked thinner, definitely weaker. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than usual. He looked ill. 'He's just been in hospital!' Harry reminded himself. But the most noticeable difference in him was the absence of the sneer on his lips and the glare in his eyes.

He glanced at the woman dressed in immaculate robes of ivory and vaguely recognised her as Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mum. He had only seen her once, when he went with the Weasley's to the Quidditch World Cup.

"Harry"

Harry was shaken out of his stupor at the greeting and turned to face Draco. Even his voice sounded different, it was free from the usual malice.

"Ma-Draco" Harry quickly caught himself before calling him Malfoy. The Harry of this universe was friends with Malfoy. Friends don't call each other by their surnames.

Draco's eyes narrowed at the near-slip but he didn't say anything.

Harry watched as the three men greeted Narcissa warmly. Sirius even kissed her cheek. Harry was shocked; he didn't know they knew each other. The blonde haired woman turned to Harry, her eyes studied him closely. When she spoke, her voice came to Harry as something of a shock. Her appearance gave the illusion that when she spoke, she would have a snobby, sort of manner of speaking. But when she actually spoke, her voice was warm, kind and felt, almost, motherly.

"How are you, Harry?"

"Fine" Harry responded.

Narcissa gazed at him longer; her eyes travelled to every part of his face, making Harry grow nervous. He vaguely heard his dad talking with Draco.

"How are you, Draco? I didn't know you were released from St Mungos." James said, extending a hand to shake with the boy.

Draco shook the outstretched hand, but didn't return the smile.

"I was released a fortnight ago." He answered simply.

Sirius and Remus shook hands with him as well and asked for his health to which Draco gave the short answer 'still alive'.

James looked at Harry, noting the unusual behaviour. He was hardly looking at Draco, in fact it looked like he was making a special effort to _not_ look at him. Again, James couldn't help but feel paranoid that there was something wrong with his son. Forcibly, pushing his paranoia aside, James reasoned that maybe Harry wanted some privacy to speak to his best friend.

"Would you like to join us, Narcissa? Lily and Tonks are in _Madame Jocelyn's cafe_ and would love to see you." James asked.

Narcissa gave Draco one look before smiling at James.

"That would be lovely." She answered.

Harry was finding her gaze too much and wished her dad had not asked her for company. He was starting to panic at the prospect of talking to Draco; he didn't know how to talk to Draco without giving and receiving threats.

Draco was eyeing Harry, looking more and more annoyed by the second.

"A quick word, Harry?" he said, making no move to accompany the rest.

Harry looked at James, for some reason and then forced himself to look at Draco.

"Sure" he answered, knowing that he couldn't refuse. It would be too suspicious.

Harry and Draco walked in the opposite direction to the rest. Their footsteps fell on the street, perfectly in synch with one another. Again, Harry found that detail, frustratingly different.

They walked in silence; Draco wasn't even looking at Harry. They turned the corner and walked further, making no conversation. Draco led Harry into a small pub, it was so inconspicuously placed, that Harry would have never noticed it if he had been alone.

Draco walked in, gestured to the barman for two drinks and sat down. His flow of movement was not broken at all. Sitting down, he finally looked at Harry.

Harry sat down, feeling very nervous. Draco eyed him again before finally speaking.

"So, what's your excuse?" he asked.

Harry stared at him.

"For what?"

"You know bloody well what?!" Draco snapped, his grey eyes sparkling at him. "Why the hell did you go back to Hogwarts?"

Harry sat in silence. What was he supposed to say?

"I just changed my mind." He supplied, trying to adapt his speech like what he could remember of the other Harry; calm, cool and collected.

"Don't feed me that rubbish!" Draco hissed. "There was nothing in this world that could make you go back to that place. You went there for a reason, what was it?" he demanded.

For a best friend, Draco seemed really obnoxious, Harry thought to himself. He couldn't see why the Harry of this world was friends with him; Draco seemed as bad mannered as in his own world.

"I have my reasons." Harry said hoping his voice didn't betray his annoyance.

"And they are?" Draco prompted.

"Private" Harry answered.

Draco didn't respond but that was only because their drinks had arrived. Harry looked around the pub, noting that it was quite small, only a few tables were scattered around. He saw a total of three people, sitting at the table at the far side.

"I can't believe you," Draco said, bringing Harry's attention back. "You know what Dumbledore wants, you know how manipulative he can be and yet you still went back to him."

Harry felt a hot surge of anger at the blond boy for talking about his Headmaster like that.

"Just leave it, Draco, I'm not discussing it." Harry said, knowing he couldn't openly defend Dumbledore.

Draco raised one of his eyebrows.

Why are you being weird today?" Draco asked.

"What?"

"You're acting…strange." Draco said, looking at Harry intently.

Harry looked away from him, trying to calm his franticly beating heart; he was going to get caught. He couldn't pull off being the other Harry with Draco-bloody-Malfoy. It was too difficult.

Thankfully, Draco had obediently dropped the conversation topic. Harry quickly looked for another one, anything but the subject of Hogwarts.

"So, how are you? Feeling much better?" he awkwardly asked. He knew Draco was in hospital but didn't know why. He figured he should ask him how he was though, it was only polite.

Draco gave Harry a strange look.

"I'm fine. Just had my uncle plunge a nine inch knife in my back but other than that, I'm doing just great!"

Harry gaped at him, his surprise was impossible to hold back. Draco grew even more agitated at the expression.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"Nothing is the matter with me." Harry answered, taking a quick gulp of his drink, only to splutter it back out. He coughed the fiery liquid from his throat, spitting it out.

"What the hell is this?!" he exclaimed looking at the unmarked bottle.

"It's Firewhiskey." Draco quietly told him. "You know, your favourite drink?" he said, his voice sending shockwaves of icy cold down Harry's back.

Harry knew, at that point that it was over; Draco had caught on. His cold grey eyes locked with Harry and the raven haired boy made a quick grab for his wand. Unfortunately, the seventeen year old Draco Malfoy was too fast for Harry and struck before him, his wand concealed under the table.

Harry felt the paralysing cold travel down his body; locking him and his actions, not allowing him any movement, save for his eyes.

Draco stood up, his movement slow but deliberate. Harry was panicking so badly he felt nauseated. He couldn't do anything to protect himself. He was royally screwed.

Draco knocked the bottle of drink deliberately down Harry's clothes and then exclaimed loudly.

"Oh, sorry about that mate. Here, let me help you." He bent over, pretending to wipe the front of his robes and took Harry's wand from his frozen fingers. He looked at the wand and his expression hardened. A cold glare was sent Harry's way. Draco pointed his wand at Harry and did a complicated wave. Harry felt the stiffness disappear from him but he still couldn't move. "Here, let's go to the washroom." Draco's concealed wand made Harry spring to his feet and march in the direction of the restroom, Draco walking behind him, controlling him.

Harry passed the three other occupant of the pub, but they didn't spare him a single glance. The barman was busy re-stocking his drinks and didn't look up as the two boys walked past him.

The door to the restroom opened and Harry was suddenly pushed violently inside. His head smashed against the white tiles of the floor, making him see stars. The spell was lifted and Harry sagged against the floor, letting the feeling return to his frozen limbs. He turned around to see Draco locking the door and glare at him. He was holding Harry's wand in his hand, his fingers wrapped against it so tight, his knuckles were turning white.

"Who are you?!" he hissed at Harry.

Harry stayed on the floor. His legs had yet to wake up.

"I know what you're thinking but it's not true. I'm Harry Potter…" Harry started but was cut off by Draco, hurling a hex at him.

The purple ball of light hit Harry in the chest and he doubled over in pain. The pain felt like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of him.

"Where is Harry? What have you done to him?" Draco asked, pointing his wand at him threateningly.

"I swear…it's not…what you think. Talk to Damien, he'll…tell you." Harry panted.

Draco's eyes widened at that but he didn't back down.

"What does Damien know? You probably fooled him into believing you're Harry Potter!" he held up Harry's wand and then asked, "how did you get this?! What did you do to Harry to get this from him?!" he got angrier as he spoke making Harry anticipate another attack. But thankfully none came. "This is of no use to you. Only Harry can use it." Draco seethed at him

Harry willed his legs to wake up, so he could at least stand up. He felt quite literally, like a sitting duck, waiting to be hit again.

"That is my wand." Harry told him.

Draco took a few steps near him; Harry could see the intent to kill in him. He wished he had something with him, anything he could use to defend himself.

"Tell me where Harry is, and I'll let you live." He told Harry quietly, with venom.

"You're never going to believe me. Talk to Damien, he can get you in contact with your Harry."

Draco was about to strike him again when a loud pounding started at the door.

"Hello? Draco? Harry? It's Damien, let me in!"

Harry could have cried with relief. Damien was here, finally, Draco would believe him. Harry watched as Draco hesitantly went to the door, keeping his wand pointed at Harry. He stood next to the door and lifted the spell that was keeping their voices concealed.

"Damien?"

"Yeah, it's me, Draco. Let me in!" Damien said.

Harry could see, just from Draco's face that he was unsure of what to do. His hand lingered on the door handle. He pulled his hand way and a scowl appeared on his face.

"What was the signal you had to give in Riddle Manor?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Damien's annoyed voice came from behind the door.

"The signal, the one used by Snape when we were at Riddle Manor. What was it?" Draco asked, his voice hard and cold.

"For God's sake, Draco!" Damien yelled.

"Say it or I won't let you in!" Draco threatened.

"Mr Potter, do as you're told." Damien said from behind the door, not sounding at all pleased.

Draco relaxed a little and flicked open the door. Damien hurried inside, throwing Draco a look of contempt.

"Seriously, paranoid much?" he bit out at him.

Draco only pointed at the Harry on the floor and sneered.

"If only you were too."

Damien rushed to Harry's aid, looking incensed with his treatment.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting down and examining him for any injuries.

"I'm fine," Harry said. "Can't feel my legs though."

Damien glared at Draco.

"Draco! Take that spell off him!" Damien yelled.

"Not until I find out what's going on." Draco calmly answered, locking the door, again.

"I'll explain everything to you, but not here. We'll go…"

"We're not going anywhere." Draco cut across Damien. "Tell me what's going on right now."

Seeing that he really didn't have a choice in this, Damien started to explain.

"This really is Harry Potter, just not this world's Harry Potter," Damien started. "Harry had a compass, a golden compass with two rings and runes around the circumference. I was, well, just looking at it really. I ended up activating it, by mistake and Harry tried to grab it from me but the compass pulled both of us out of this universe and we ended up in another one…" Damien ran through the whole account as quickly as he could, noting the look on Draco's face get worse with each passing word. "…Harry thinks that the compass needs to regenerate its energy before it can work again. So, until then, Harry is stuck in that other universe and this Harry is stuck here."

For long minutes, no one spoke. Harry was still forced on the ground, his legs yet to be released from their numbed state. Damien was standing next to him, facing Draco, who looked like he couldn't believe a word of what he had heard. At last, Draco spoke.

"Harry went to another dimension, by _mistake_ and swapped lives with his counterpart but now is stuck there until the compass decides to start working again?" Draco summarised. Damien nodded his head. "Yep, that sounds like the crap Harry usually gets into." Draco said.

Damien opened his mouth to retaliate but then found he couldn't really defend his brother on this point.

"Um, if you're satisfied now, do you mind releasing me?!" Harry spoke from the ground, annoyed beyond words at how he was being treated.

Draco looked down at him, a smirk on his face. He flicked his wand and Harry felt the blood return to his legs. It wasn't the best of feeling. He got up to his feet, hobbling a little but managing to stand upright.

Draco threw Harry his wand back, Harry caught it and quickly pushed it back into his robes. Draco looked at the other Harry, intrigued at the prospect of meeting an alternate form of his best friend. But right now he only wanted to do one thing.

He walked over to Damien, towering over him. He held out his hand.

"I need to speak to him, now."

Damien reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He handed it to Draco only to see him looking confused.

"Just press the green button." Damien instructed.

Draco gave a curt nod and pushed the button, then stared at Damien, wordlessly asking him what to do next. Damien sighed and took hold of Draco's hand leading it to his ear, making sure the earpiece was placed directly next to his ear. Harry's voice flooded the phone, making Draco jump a little.

He turned on the spot and walked to the other end of the restroom, wanting privacy.

Damien turned to look at Harry, noting the stains on his robes.

"What is that?" he asked pointing to the front of his robes.

Harry looked down at himself before looking back at Damien.

"Firewhiskey." He said, spitting the word out.

"Oh, Harry likes Firewhiskey." Damien said absently, missing his brother fiercely.

"So I learned." Harry said, not at all amused.

xxx

Harry woke up the next day, feeling his insides twist with anxiety. They were sneaking off to Potter Manor in an hour to try the compass. Harry lay in his bed for the hour, just thinking about his time in this world. He couldn't believe he had been here for almost two months. He had originally come for only two days and before he knew it, two months had passed and he was still aching for more. He realised that he couldn't ever have enough of his family. No matter when he had to go back, he would hate it.

The small knock on his door made Harry sigh deeply before getting up. He knew who it was. Opening the door revealed Damien, standing before him, fully dressed, cloak thrown over his shoulders.

"Ready?" he asked.

Harry looked down at his pyjamas.

"Not quite." He said with a smile.

Damien peered at him closer and then noticed the night garments. He blushed before grinning.

"Sorry, guess I'm excited." He explained.

Damien waited next to the fireplace until Harry got ready. Some twenty minutes later, Harry was ready and they set off quickly. Harry walked past his parents' quarters, knowing his parents were fast asleep and that if things went to plan, he would never see them again. He forced himself to look away, it hurt less that way.

Ginny was waiting for them at the gates.

"Finally, I thought you weren't coming!" she admonished, rubbing her hands together to get some warmth. "Come on, we have to cross the wards before we can apparate."

They set towards the edge of the wards.

"So, how did things go with Malfoy yesterday?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

Harry looked at Damien to see an embarrassed grin.

"You couldn't resist telling her?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, it's just, Harry phoned to speak to her and I knew he would tell her, so I told her before he could." Damien said.

"What did Malfoy say to Harry anyway? He was awfully quiet when talking to him." Harry asked.

"That's a Slytherin thing. They learn how to talk in whispers." Ginny informed him. "and Harry said he only wanted to speak to him, to see what he was up to…and to check if he had lost his mind completely, swapping universes like that."

"Can't disagree with Malfoy on that one." Damien commented.

Harry didn't say anything. They reached the end of the wards and Harry turned to gaze, one last time, at the Hogwarts that held his family, before disapparating side along with Ginny and Damien.

xxx

"I swear, I'm going to smash this stupid thing!" Damien yelled, taking the compass in both hands.

"Damien! Put it down!" Ginny screamed, grabbing it from him.

Harry sat in complete silence, watching the two fight over the compass, the compass that no longer worked. It was certain now, the compass that had brought him here, failed to work again. This time, nothing had happened, no hands had moved, to light, nothing at all.

Damien was ready to throw it against the wall. Only Ginny's interference kept the thing in one piece.

"This is brilliant! Just brilliant! The God damn thing is fucking broken!" Damien swore.

"It can't be broken, just calm down. We'll figure something out." Ginny said, studying the compass.

Damien was pacing fretfully in the middle of the living room. He opened his mouth to say something to Ginny but then looked at Harry and closed his mouth with an audible click. He collapsed on the sofa, hiding his face behind his hands. He couldn't say anything to Ginny in front of the other Harry. He couldn't tell her that his brother was planning to steal the compass from that world's Voldemort. It was suicidal but Harry wasn't going to back down, regardless of what anyone said.

Hands trembling from both anger and fear, Damien pulled out his phone and connected to Harry, preparing to tell him the bad news and hoping he would see reason and not risk his life in an effort to get back home.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry added the finishing touches to his sketch and pulled back to examine his work. It was finally ready. Harry couldn't believe it took him the best parts of three days to get the thing ready. He comforted himself in the knowledge that the three days were spent in classes as well and he had to rely heavily on the detail Damien was providing over the last few days.

He felt slightly guilty for shouting at him earlier. But he was starting to annoy him, more than usual. Ever since Sunday, which was three days ago, Damien had been phoning him and repeating the same thing again and again.

'Harry, please, please don't go anywhere near Voldemort. He'll kill you! Please don't go near him, please.'

Harry had tried to explain to him that since the compass in their world was not working and he had no idea how to fix it, the only way he could come home was to look for the compass' counterpart in this world. Using that was the only way he could come home. Damien however, was still begging him to avoid Voldemort. This morning, Harry snapped at him,

"What do you want me to do?! This is the only way I can come home! Can't you understand that?!"

Harry pushed away the guilt. He would make it up to him, once he was home. He had a lot to make up for. Harry was well aware of how much his younger brother was going through, trying to keep _all_ secrets hidden.

After their conversation on Sunday, Harry had told Damien to explain, in detail, everything about the compass to him, over the phone. Every little detail of it was to be given, nothing was to be left out; it's actual size, the lengths of all the hands, the runes around the circumference, everything. Harry had to replicate an actual duplicate copy of it.

Damien had done what Harry asked, but when it came to the runes, he couldn't name them as he had no idea what they were. So Harry had to wait until Damien got back to Hogwarts and checked out books about runes. Looking them up was the only way he could name them to Harry. Harry, who wasn't that good with runes himself, had to check out a similar book and was checking everything over before adding it to his sketch. The exact runes and their exact order of placement was very important. The location spell wouldn't work if anything was wrong.

Finally, after three days, Harry's sketch was ready and he was ready to do the spell and find out where Voldemort had hidden this little beauty.

xxx

It was past midnight, the occupants of the castle were all fast asleep, all but one. Harry crept out of his bed and pulled out the invisibility cloak, he had found it among Harry's things. Pulling it over himself, Harry set off towards the potions lab. Creeping through the school at night was an experience in itself. There was that annoying cat along with her caretaker that kept appearing out of nowhere. A few times the cat stared right at Harry but she didn't move towards him. In fact, she turned around and skittered away in the other direction.

At long last, Harry reached the dungeons and as quietly as he could, Harry sneaked inside. He pulled off the cloak once he was safely inside and the door was locked and charmed against any visitors.

Harry set to work at once, pulling out a cauldron and gathering the necessary ingredients. The spell could only be cast once the proper potion was ready. This particular potion was very difficult to brew and it took a few hours to brew properly. Harry was going to be here for quite some time.

xxx

Roughly four hours later, Harry pulled out the sketch he had made from his pocket and dropped it into his bubbling cauldron. He had made a copy of it and left it in his trunk, just in case the potion didn't work out right the first time. But Harry was relieved to see the grey coloured potion shimmer and change to golden as soon as the parchment dissolved in it.

Harry scooped out the scorching hot liquid and carefully spooned the drops into the centre of a blank parchment, all the time whispering the incantation for the location spell. He watched with fascination as spidery lines started appearing, crisscrossing the parchment and covering the entire length of it. Miniscule writing appeared next to what looked like small blobs of ink, obviously the names of landmarks.

Very pleased that his efforts had paid off at the first try, Harry gathered up the precious map, not caring to study it in any detail just yet. He had seen the large cross, indicating the location of the compass. That was all he needed.

Harry took care to clean up after himself. He didn't need Snape finding evidence of a location potion being brewed in secret. The hook nosed git was already suspicious of him as it was, he didn't need anymore ammunition.

Harry got back to his room without any problems. It was now too late to go to sleep, so Harry opted to just lie in bed and rest, the map hidden safely in his trunk.

xxx

Breakfast was always such a noisy time. Harry would just eat in the kitchen, if it was any quieter. He made small conversations with Ron, who Harry noted had the same eating habits in both universes.

Through a mouthful of toast and bacon, he asked Hermione is she would 'be a doll' and help him with his essay which was to be handed in that afternoon.

"No, I will not." Hermione said not looking at him for fear of seeing his food in his mouth.

"Aw, come on, Hermione, please." Ron begged, swallowing the large mouthful. "I just need help with the end just a little at the end, and maybe the beginning." He added quickly.

Hermione looked at him, a frown on her face.

"Oh, okay! I'll look over it but I really should stop helping you. Maybe one of these days, you'll get what's coming to you and then you won't leave things to the last minute." She scolded.

"Thanks, Hermione. You're a real friend." Ron said, turning back to his plate of food, not seeing how his compliment made Hermione blush.

Harry watched the antics of the two and shook his head. They were going to waste a few more years before they finally realised how much they liked each other. Harry got back to his train of thought. He was mentally planning the journey he was going to take tonight.

He was going to go and find the compass tonight, he wasn't going to waste anymore time than was necessary. He didn't think Damien could take anymore stress. Harry thought about what his brother's face would be like if he just arrived without telling him first. Damien would be so relieved. Harry had to admit he missed Damien too. He found himself thinking about his parents, they didn't even know he was away from them. Harry hadn't thought being away from them would affect him at all. He was surprised himself at how much the idea of seeing his parents again was exciting him. He shrugged away the feelings not knowing what to make of them.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted as a loud screeching punctured the already noisy hall. Harry looked up to see a flock of owls, carrying mail and small parcels, flying towards their recipients.

Harry was momentarily startled when a large brown owl stopped before him, a scroll tied to its leg. Harry untied the letter, freeing the owl and letting it fly away. He studied the letter, wondering who would write to him.

Harry put the letter down, still unopened and went back to his breakfast. He noticed Hermione shooting the letter curious looks but she didn't say anything. With a smirk, Harry handed her the letter.

"You can do the honours." He said, he wasn't that bothered about the letter, it wasn't _really_ for him anyway.

Hermione looked a little taken aback but she took the letter from him anyway. She carefully opened the letter, taking care not to rip the envelope more than was necessary. She pulled out a parchment and started reading, absorbed in it.

Ron was oblivious to the letter as he was in the process of ripping open an envelope and reading a letter of his own. Harry watched as the boy started turning a shade of red. It started first at the tip of his ears and then travelled to his face and even his neck.

"You okay?" Harry asked.

Ron didn't answer but crushed the letter in his fist, muttering obscenities at someone, presumably the writer of the letter. He didn't look at Harry and attacked his plate, slamming his fork into the small piece of bacon with so much force, Harry was sure the plate would have cracked, if it wasn't protected by magic of course. Ron didn't eat anymore food, but continued to roughly push it around his plate, a very angry look on his face.

"Ron, who was the letter from?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Percy!" Ron hissed. "He's talking rubbish again. It's not enough that he bad mouthed dad this summer before leaving home, but now he's actually telling me to…to, forget it! He's just being a prat!"

Harry knew who Percy must have bad mouthed. It didn't take a lot to guess. From Ron's reaction, it was clear that Percy must have said something against Harry. From what Professor Umbridge had blurted out, about the Minister saying Harry wasn't innocent and the newspapers taking digs at him, Harry knew the Ministry were against him. Not that that was anything new, and especially after what he did to the Minister's precious Umbridge, he probably was bad mouthing him to everyone. Percy also worked for the Ministry and it was apparent that Ron must have been given advice to stay away from him.

Harry idly wondered what the Weasley boys had against him. No matter which world he was in, at least one of them was against him. If it wasn't Charlie it was Percy.

Harry looked away from Ron and noticed Hermione with a frown on her face, eyes still fixed to the parchment before her. Wondering who else was bad mouthing him, he turned to her.

"What does this one say?" he asked.

Hermione looked at him and opened her mouth to answer, before snapping it shut again. She waited until the group of sixth years passed. After a moment or two she leaned over to Harry and whispered a single word.

"Snuffles"

Harry blinked at her.

"Yes, bushy?" he asked.

Hermione threw him a look, her brown eyes narrowed at him.

"What?" she asked annoyed.

"You started it." Harry defended.

Even Ron was staring at Harry with confusion.

"It's Snuffles, the letter is from Snuffles!" Hermione said, pointing at the letter, looking at Harry as if he were mad.

Harry played along.

"Oh, Snuffles. Oh, okay. I thought you said something else."

Hermione was still staring at him, eyes narrowed at him. She disregarded it at the moment though, as she wanted to tell Harry and Ron about the letter.

"He wants to know how things are getting on. There's something here…I think you should read this yourself." She handed him the letter. Harry took the letter and pocketed it, wondering who the hell would name their kid, Snuffles.

xxx

Harry didn't read the letter, he never got the chance. After breakfast he was busy with classes, desperately boring and dull classes. At the end of the day, he had to keep up pretences with Ron and Hermione. Neither of them asked about the letter of 'Snuffles' so Harry was content to just ignore it for now. His primary focus was planning the collection of the golden compass. He had to hang around until the boys in his dormitory fell asleep, including Ron. He couldn't risk this.

Once the four boys were deeply asleep, Harry crept from his bed. Very quietly he opened his trunk and pulled out the map and his own clothes, the ones that belonged to him and not the other Harry. He sneaked into the bathroom to get changed. His wand was carefully tucked into his pocket before he unfurled the map and had a good look at the location. Memorising the location, Harry closed his eyes and disapparated.

Harry appeared in the middle of what seemed a deep forest. Harry peered through the darkness and wondered why such things were always hidden in forests and caves. He referred to his map again and saw which direction he was supposed to go. Setting off, Harry couldn't help but feel excited. After two months, he was finally going to go home. He reached the mouth of the cave and for a moment he stood there, readying himself. If the Voldemort of this world was anything like his father, he would have arranged protection for his possessions. Harry smiled and walked into the cave, glad to have a chance to release some of his pent up frustration.

xxx

Harry travelled through the dark cave, taking care not to trip up. The ground was dreadfully uneven and it was very difficult to walk down the steep pathway. Harry managed, nearly tripping up a few times but he caught himself in time. A small flicker of light caught Harry's attention and Harry turned to face it. That was the direction he had to go in. He wondered why there was light there. Gripping onto his wand, Harry crept forward. The sound of muffled voices gave away the fact that Harry wasn't alone. Using all the stealth he possessed, Harry crept towards a large opening in one of the walls of the cave, directly where the source of light was. Standing at the edge of the opening, Harry peered inside to see a round room, the ground covered in rocks and debris. The light was coming from three separate floating lanterns, belonging to the three men, in white masks, standing inside. Harry cursed when he saw the three Death Eaters, his eyes lingered on one in particular, the one with long blond hair held back in a ponytail, his snake cane in his hand. 'Why did he have to be here?' Harry thought to himself. Couldn't Lucius Malfoy find any other day to come to this very cave?

"It's not here, Malfoy." One of the other men said.

"The Lord said it would be here. Keep looking for it. We're not leaving until we have all three of his possessions." Malfoy drawled.

"We've looked everywhere. We found two of them. The last one is not here." The third masked men said, sounding very irate.

Harry watched as Malfoy turned to face him, his cane struck out and hit the man under the chin, making him leap back in pain.

"Do you wish to return to the Dark Lord and tell him you could only find two of the items he asked for?" he asked icily.

The man shook his head, obviously in fear.

"No"

"I thought not," Lucius sneered. "Now, listen closely. The Dark Lord has asked us to gather his possessions, items of his that he himself hid in this cave. There are three items here. Two we have found but we will not leave here until we find the last one. Is that understood?"

The two other men voiced their agreement and turned back to keep searching through the mess of rocks and dirt. Harry noted Lucius was not helping them look. They were obviously lower rank Death Eaters that Lucius brought with him to boss around. Harry smirked, that was such a Malfoy thing to do.

The light moved over to hover before Lucius and Harry saw the small drawstring bag hanging from his wrist. Harry could tell it was already filled with something, or rather, two things. Now that Voldemort had returned to his body, he was gathering his hidden treasure. Harry realised, had he been any later in coming for the compass, it would have been gone by the time he got here.

Harry steadied himself. This would have been so much easier if Lucius wasn't here. Why did he have to come? Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that this wasn't his Lucius Malfoy, this was one of Harry Potter's enemies, Harry stepped forward and walked into the stone room.

The sound of his footsteps echoed loudly, making all three Death Eaters turn around sharply, wands at the ready. Harry kept walking, knowing they were too shocked to fire any curses at him. Harry wished they weren't wearing their masks, it would have been fun to see their expressions.

The three men seemed frozen in their actions. Their shock was clear to see in their wide eyes. Harry stood in front of Lucius, smirking at the way the man was staring without blinking.

"Evening, Death Eaters. How are you?" Harry asked.

Lucius snapped out of his shock and glared at Harry.

"Mr Potter, I would ask what you were doing here and how you even got here, but it would seem such questions are futile, seeing that you won't be leaving again."

Harry rolled his eyes at the threat.

The two Death Eaters took Lucius' words as a signal and fired two curses at him. Harry barely moved; a flick of his wrist and his magical shield poured out of his wand and protected him by forming a bubble around him. The blue bubble absorbed the two curses. The gasps that left the three men were magnified by the cave's hollow walls. Harry pulled down his shield, smirked deeply at them before hissing,

"My turn."

The two Death Eaters brought up their shields but it wasn't quick enough. Harry's 'Stupefy' curse slammed into one, knocking him unconscious instantly while the other one was blasted off his feet by the sweep of Harry's hand. He smashed into the stone wall behind him and fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

Lucius had stood in the middle of the attack; the two forces had zoomed on either side of him and hit the two men behind him. He was left unscathed. He lifted his eyes to stare at the teen before him.

"You can take off your mask. I know it's you, Malfoy." Harry said calmly.

The blond haired man paused for a moment before lifting away his mask. Harry looked at the face he had seen everyday when he was growing up.

"I had heard about your…so called, potion error." Lucius said, his voice betraying none of his surprise. "I think it is safe to say that you're lying. You couldn't possibly have learned all that due to a potion mistake."

Harry laughed, making Lucius glare harder at him.

"You sound just like your potions-obsessed friend. Yes, I know Snape is a Death Eater, don't look so surprised." Harry said as the blond aristocrat's eyebrows shot up at Harry's mention of Snape.

Lucius looked at Harry in a new light. He stared at the boy, who he had only just seen four months ago, tied to a headstone, being tortured and humiliated by Lord Voldemort. This boy seemed so different now, so much confidence and so much arrogance. It didn't make any sense.

"Who are you?" Lucius asked, surprised the question dropped from his lips.

Harry smiled again.

"Harry James Potter," he answered. "And now, if you don't mind, I have classes in the morning." He gestured for him to move out of the way. "Let me get what I came for and I'll leave and I'll let you leave too." Harry promised. He kept the part about obliviating him first to himself.

Lucius took aim with his wand and sneered at Harry.

"I don't think so, Mr Potter. I don't know what's going on but I'm most certain the Dark Lord will be able to get the truth out of you. You're coming with me."

Harry suddenly felt a rush of déjà vu. Two years ago, outside a similar cave to the one they were in just now, Lucius Malfoy and his army of Death Eaters had come to take Harry back to Lord Voldemort. Harry forced that memory aside, that was the day Voldemort's Horcruxes were finished for good.

"Move, Malfoy." Harry ordered.

The only answer he got was a crucio aimed at him. Harry leapt out of the way, landing on all fours. He sat up and glared at Malfoy.

"Have it your way." Harry hissed.

His wandless blast was countered by Malfoy and the blond man sent it back to Harry, who again jumped out of the way. Leaping up onto his feet, Harry straightened up. His wand in hand, Harry fired the simplest of curses, the disarming spell. He knew Malfoy was a great dueller but without his wand, he was useless. Lucius blocked all the curses Harry threw his way but was struggling to keep up. Harry was fast and a few times he had tried to wandlessly blast him while firing Expellarimus at him.

Malfoy was going to take the brat to his master. He was going to throw the mudblood's son at his Lord's feet and reap the rewards. For this reason only, he refrained from using the killing curse. He tried the disarming spell, the body bind, stupefy, everything else, even the cruciatus curse, but nothing hit Harry. If he didn't block the curses, he simply moved out of the way. Lucius had never seen anyone with such good reflexes. He put it down to the boy's Quidditch practise. The sport had helped him immensely.

Harry's curse caught Malfoy finally and the man was thrown bodily in the air. He smashed into the far wall, colliding painfully with it. He never let go of his wand though and as soon as he hit the ground, he rolled out of the way of another oncoming curse. He was quick to jump back on his feet. It was then he noticed Harry's attention had momentarily been caught by something else. He looked at the wall he had smashed into and gasped. A large block of the stone wall had come away, crumbled from the impact and what was revealed took his breath away. Sitting inside the wall, protected by a glass dome was the golden compass. Lucius knew this was the last item he had to collect on his Master's order.

At once both wizards darted towards the prize; Lucius was nearer to it and reached it first. Before he could take it out, he had to defend himself against Harry's attack. He blocked the onslaught of curses and pushed against the force, knocking the last curse back onto Harry. Harry swerved out of the way to avoid it.

Harry saw Lucius reach over to take the compass, he acted on impulse and fired the stupefy curse. Lucius ducked, as he didn't have the chance to bring up his shield. Harry watched, aghast as his curse flew straight into the glass dome, shattering it.

Harry and Lucius stood rooted to the spot as an unearthly howl shook the cave. Both wizards looked at each other. Both knew what would happen now, it was Voldemort's special protection plans that had awakened as the security barrier on the golden compass had been broken.

"You fool," Lucius spat. "What have you done?"

"You moved out of the way!" Harry retorted. He had not planned on smashing the dome. He knew doing that would only cause trouble.

Both wizards turned to face the mouth of the entrance to see what they would have to face in order to get out of here. There, at the entrance, was a large group of beasts. They were standing upright, on their hind legs; grey fur covered their entire body. Their long arms were at their sides, razor sharp claws ready to rip into flesh. Their faces resembled those of wolves, or more like werewolves. Their white eyes gleamed in the darkness, set on both wizards. Sharp teeth bared, the beasts growled deep in their throats, readying themselves for a feast.

"Balverines" Harry whispered. He hated these things, really hated them.

Behind him, Lucius edged towards the wall, keeping his grey eyes fixed on the animals. He reached for the compass but stopped as the roar of the beasts warned him not to touch it.

He lowered his hand but the other one gripped onto his wand.

"Go for it." Harry whispered.

"Are you mad?" Lucius whispered back.

"If they come in here, you can forget getting it. Grab it now, while you still have the chance." Harry said, keeping his eyes on the Balverines as they inched their way inside the small room.

Lucius knew Harry was right. He watched as the army of Balverines blocked the exit, filling up the small space before them. The ferocious looking beasts let out another howl, driving fear straight into Lucius. But he was more afraid of the beast waiting for him to return with his possessions.

"The hell with you lot!" Lucius growled and sent a fireball hex at the nearest one. The small explosion of fire gave the beasts enough of a scare for them to turn their attention towards the fire. Lucius took the chance to swipe the compass out of the wall's nest and quickly drop it into his drawstring bag.

What happened next was the terrifying experience, Lucius would never forget. The Balverines came at him, in full fury, ready to rip him to pieces. Lucius fired as many curses as he could around him. Dark spells left his mouth as he tried to protect himself. Many Balverines fell, howling in agonising pain, spasms left them unable to do much but scream.

It was only then that Lucius looked around to find Harry, firing similar spells, only his were much, much darker. The Balverines that dared to approach him fell to the ground, their fur turning brown as their blood boiled in their very bodies. He saw him casting curses that made the animals implode from the inside, their corpses falling to the ground, nothing left but shattered bones. A few times he saw Harry cast the killing curse. He was so shocked he nearly got attacked by a Balverine. The Gryffindor golden boy, Dumbledore's favourite student, the saviour of the Light, was casting darker spells than even Lord Voldemort.

Before his eyes, Harry dove out of the way of an attack from a particularly vicious looking Balverine. He landed next to the still unconscious body of the Death Eater he had knocked out. Harry grabbed his wand and stood up. He fought the large Balverine with two wands now, not taking any mercy on the beast suffering before him.

Lucius felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as he watched Harry literally rip the beast apart. He knew that for someone to be able to cast such spells, not only did they need to be a powerful wizard but they had to have the necessary ammunition within them to call forth the dark magic.

From everyone, Lucius had never thought he would see Harry Potter killing using the darkest of magic. Lucius gladly looked away and dealt with a few more Balverines until he saw a pathway clear for him to escape. Dodging another beast's poisonous claw, clutching the bag full of his master's possessions close to his chest, he managed to run out of the cave, leaving Harry all on his own.

xxx

Lucius had only reached the mouth of the cave when he heard the pounding of footsteps behind him. He turned around only to be knocked off his feet when something slammed into him. He went rolling out of the cave, the bag still clutched close to him. His attacker was right with him. Lucius landed with a dull thud on the dirty ground. He sat up to see who had knocked him over. Harry smirked at him, sitting on all fours again. Both wizards shot to their feet and had their wands aimed at each other in a matter of seconds.

Harry fired a curse, but not one Lucius had thought he would. He cast 'Accio' on the bag Lucius had been holding. Only the drawstring, still wrapped around Lucius' wrist stopped the bag from going into Harry's grasp. Stunned, Lucius retaliated, firing his own stream of curses. They were all blocked and again, Harry tried blasting Lucius before going for his bag. Lucius had to duck and dive out of the way, avoiding losing the precious treasure his master wanted returned to him.

Lucius quickly scrambled his feet but found Harry standing over him. Instead of taking aim with his wand, he struck Lucius, unexpectedly, and grabbed the bag as Lucius fell back from the physical blow. Lucius however was known for his reflexes and took a hold of the bag, not allowing it out of his grip. Harry swung his fist around, smashing into Lucius again, but the man still didn't let go.

"Give it to me, Malfoy!" Harry yelled, trying to shake the bag out of his iron grip. He really didn't want to hurt Malfoy. They were struggling too much for either of them to point wands. Harry tried blasting him away but only succeeded in knocking both of them over. Harry lost the grip on the bag when he fell.

Both shot back to their feet, wands aimed and ready, but before they could attack one another a guttural howl was heard around them. Both wizards glanced over and saw the large gathering of Balverines, inching their way closer to them. No matter how many they killed, more had appeared and now had them surrounded.

Harry and Lucius shared a look before both turned around, complete 180 degree turns, so that they were now facing the opposite side, standing back to back. Both started firing curses, Harry using both his wands to fight the beasts where Lucius only had one. The spells zoomed out and hit their targets with such force that the ground shook with the effects.

Harry had to move out of the way as a group of ten Balverines came at him. He pushed, using only the top half of his body to knock Lucius out of harms way, before ducking and rolling himself away.

Lucius was up on his feet in matter of seconds. He was starting to lose strength though and was afraid he would fall prey to these animals soon. Their claws had a poison so potent it would kill you instantly. Their teeth could bite through human bones without any trouble. He didn't want to experience any of that.

Lucius was suddenly knocked onto his back by a Balverine. Completely winded, Lucius fell to the ground, unable to do anything but stare in fear at the Balverine that was looming over him. The horrid creature bared his teeth and crouched over him, preparing to strike.

Just before the beast's claws could reach him an invisible force wrapped around it, making the animal freeze in mid-action. Its white eyes widened with surprise. It let out a howl of pain before being suddenly lifted in the air and thrown right into a large tree with immense force. The audible crack signified the breaking of its neck and the dead animal fell to the ground.

Lucius scrambled to his feet, baffled at what had happened. He looked over to his right and saw Harry, his wand still raised and pointed at the tree the animal had just smashed into. Lucius couldn't understand it, the boy had saved his life, but why? He saw the small smile on Harry's face before he engaged in more battle with the Balverines.

Lucius took the chance, he got to his feet and he ran. He ran to the edge of the appartation wards so he could disapparate. Harry had just killed another Balverine and looked up to see Lucius, already a good distance away. Harry raised his hand, ready to cast the strongest accio he could to bring the bag with the golden compass to him, even if it brought Lucius to him with it.

Just before the spell could reach Lucius, the blond haired Death Eater disapparated, back to Voldemort, taking with him Harry's chance to go back home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, so this is the longest chapter so far in DR. Please review to let me know what you thought. Thank you.

NOTE: The 'Balverines' are not my creation. They are one of the beasts in the XBOX game 'Fable' I recently finished playing it and I loved/hated those things. So I thought, why not have Harry fight them? Hope you enjoyed it!!

Oh, and A. Nonny Muss, the answer to your question is at the bottom of my Profile page. Please let me know in your review if your question is fully answered. Cheers!!


	17. Truths revealed

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Hey everyone! Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seventeen**

_**AU World**_

Damien couldn't believe what he just heard. For a moment he just stood, perfectly still, clutching the phone tightly in his hand, eyes staring ahead at the blank wall.

"He escaped?" he asked in disbelief.

"That's what I said." Came his brother's tired sounding voice from the other end.

Damien could feel the panic as it started bubbling furiously inside him, starting from the pit of his stomach and travelling all the way up. The compass was gone; Lucius Malfoy had taken the compass and escaped. This was the single, worst thing that could have happened.

"What…what are you going to do now?" Damien asked, fearful of the answer.

He could hear Harry sigh heavily from the other end. His heart started beating faster than before.

"There's only one thing I can do," Harry started. "There's no way I can get home other than using the compass. I have to get to the compass."

Damien knew that was going to be Harry's answer. He started pacing the length of the room, his free hand balled into a fist as his other hand clutched at the phone.

"How are you going to do that?! You know as well as I do that that compass is now with Voldemort! It's not like you can just go to him and ask for it and expect him to hand it to you!" Damien said.

"Obviously!" Harry's annoyed voice rang in his ear. "I'm not going to ask for it! I'm going to steal it."

Damien closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe out slowly, an attempt to calm down.

It didn't work.

"You couldn't have said anything worse!" he said.

"Look, Damy. This is the only way, okay. I'm not happy about this either but it's not my decision anymore. If I want to get out of here, I have to get that compass. If it just happens to be in, in _his_ possession, then I can't do anything about that."

Damien listened to his brother's explanation, feeling dread build in his chest.

"You don't want to see him?" he asked, his voice quiet.

A pause before Harry asked, "What?"

"Voldemort, you don't want to meet him?" Damien asked.

There was no immediate response from Harry. Damien waited for his brother to answer, to drive away the suspicion that had been slowly growing inside him.

"Why are you asking?" Harry asked his voice blank and emotionless.

"It just seems to me that you would happily go to get the compass from Voldemort if it means you get a chance to see him again. The compass can't be the only way to jump between dimensions. But instead of looking for another way, you're eager to run to Voldemort's lair, ignoring the fact that in this world, he's out for your blood!"

Harry didn't speak, but he didn't hang up either, as Damien had half expected him to.

"You let Malfoy go, on purpose, didn't you?" Damien continued. "You wanted him to leave with the compass so you would get a chance to meet Voldemort again, to see him again, didn't you, Harry?" Damien couldn't help but believe that this was true. He had a small seed of suspicion, from the very day Harry had swapped universes. He had decided to stay there when he learnt that that universe still had a Lord Voldemort. Damien had squashed down this thought, trusting his brother, up until now.

It was a good minute or two before Harry finally spoke.

"Contrary to what you may think, I'm not a complete idiot." Harry said quietly. "I know the difference between the Voldemort of this world and mine, and trust me; I'm in no hurry to meet him." Damien felt a huge weight come away from him at hearing these words. "The compass is the only way I can get back home. There are, of course, other ways of travelling through dimensions but there is no way of knowing which dimension you're travelling to. Only the compass allows that." Harry explained. "And about letting Malfoy go on purpose, the only thing I did _on purpose_ was let him live. I would have got that compass from him if it wasn't for those Balverines."

Damien could hear the frustration in his brother's voice and instantly felt a surge of shame wash over him. He shouldn't be suspecting his brother for not trying hard enough to get back home.

"Sorry, Harry." He said, meaning it.

"Hey, if I started taking offence of things you said, I wouldn't be talking to you at all."

Damien could hear the smile in Harry's voice.

Before he could answer he heard a loud knock at the door. Damien nearly jumped in the air from surprise. His eyes darted to the door, the_ Room of Requirement_ door and wondered who was knocking on it. He heard another knock before a familiar voice spoke from behind it.

"Damien! Open up."

Damien jumped again, this time from panic. It was his dad, James was at the door.

"Harry, dad's at the door." Damien told him in a whisper. "I have to go. I'll call you back as soon as I can." Damien said about to cut off the call.

"No, don't hang up," Harry said quickly stopping Damien. "Just, just keep the phone on and see what he wants."

Not having the time to argue, Damien did as he was told. He stuck the phone in his back pocket, keeping the ear piece sticking out a bit. He hurried to the door and yanked it open. James had his fist raised in the air, about to knock again.

"Hey, dad. What's up?" Damien asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

James gave Damien a look.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." he answered.

"Why are you here? And how did you know I was in here?" Damien asked, knowing his location wouldn't have come up on the map.

"I checked the map and couldn't see you anywhere. I knew this room is the only place that doesn't come up on the map." James explained.

"Oh, well, um…what do you want?" Damien asked, trying not to sound cheeky.

James gave Damien a curious look.

"I wanted to see where you were since you're over twenty minutes late."

Damien looked confusedly at his dad for a moment before his hazel eyes widened with realisation. He and Harry were supposed to meet up with their mum and dad after dinner, since Sirius, Remus and Tonks were coming over to 'hang out'. He had completely forgotten about it, as his mind was occupied with getting his brother home.

"Oh, dad, I'm sorry. It totally slipped my mind. I'll be right there." He said, hoping his dad would leave and let him finish his talk with Harry.

"What are you doing in there?" James asked, peering behind him.

"Nothing, I'm just…having…a little, me time." Damien finished awkwardly.

James stared at Damien.

"Me time?"

Damien nodded.

"Okay, you do realise that you're turning fifteen not fifty, right?" James joked.

"It's my OWL year, dad. I come in here to study in peace, alright." Damien said, rolling his eyes at his dad.

James laughed.

"Well, since I'm off 'duty' I feel no guilt in saying, take it easy. Don't worry too much about your exams." James said with a smile.

Damien smiled back.

"Yeah, okay. Look, why don't you go and I'll just pack my things, drop it off in my room and then I'll meet you in your room."

"Sounds like a plan." James answered, already retreating from the door. "But hurry up, okay."

Damien nodded his head again and closed the door, making sure it was locked. He quickly took out his phone, bringing it to his ear.

"Harry, you still there?"

"Yeah" came the response.

"I have to go, dad wants…"

"Yeah, I heard." Harry said

Damien wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not but Harry's voice sounded quieter than before.

"Well, what was it you wanted to say to me?" Damien asked.

"What?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Well, you told me not to hang up. I figured you wanted to tell me something important." Damien asked.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just wanted to see what…what dad wanted, that's all." Harry said, the word 'dad' coming out with difficulty.

Damien understood what it was Harry had wanted.

"Or maybe, you just wanted to hear his voice again?" Damien asked. Harry didn't say anything, nothing to agree or deny the claim. Damien smiled. "You miss him, don't you?" he asked, not needing an actual answer. He could tell Harry missed them, all of them.

"It just feels weird not being able to see him, or hear him." Harry admitted. "I mean he's been on my case, nagging me and annoying me for the last two years now and all of a sudden, he's gone. Sometimes I forget what happened to them in this universe and I expect to see him and mum around Hogwarts. It's still hard to get used to, not having them around." Harry added the last part in a quiet voice.

Damien was smiling broadly now.

"Damn, Harry. It took you a trip to another world, just to appreciate mum and dad."

"Let's hope it is just a trip and not a lifetime arrangement." Harry answered in a rueful voice.

xxx

Saturday came, and Harry was really excited. Today was Damien's fifteenth birthday. He had honestly not expected to still be here on Damien's birthday but since the compass failed to work, again, he was still enjoying his time in this new world. He felt really bad about the other Harry though. He was stuck in his world, missing out on his brother's birthday. Harry made himself feel better by thinking that the other Harry had been with Damien for every one of his past birthdays. If he missed out on one, it couldn't be that bad, right?

Damien, Harry noted, was in a foul mood. He didn't look like he was enjoying the birthday at all. He wasn't paying much attention to the commotion happening on the roof of the Astronomy tower. James and Lily were entertaining the guests, the whole of Gryffindor, Sirius, Remus and Tonks. Harry helped them; passing out drinks and making small talk with the students. He noted that one student was looking just as upset as Damien. He glanced over at Ginny as she sat next to Damien, talking in low voices. She gave the boy a one armed hug and whispered something in his ear, making him shake his head, clearly troubled.

"What's happening here?"

Harry turned to see Lily. She was standing next to him but her gaze was fixed on her younger son and Ginny.

Harry shrugged, "don't know."

"He seems really down," Lily said worried. "I can't seem to figure out why."

Harry, of course, knew why; it was because of the compass and its failure to work and bring back the other Harry. That was why Damien was upset. He had told him that the other Harry was going to try and figure out a way to swap places again but that was all. He never explained how Harry was planning to do that, even when Harry asked him. All he got was some mumbling and incoherent sounds that suspiciously sounded like 'suicide mission'. But that was all Harry could get out of him.

Lily approached Damien and Harry saw the way the boy tried to look happier but failed miserably. Ginny quickly got up and moved away, letting the mum sit next to her son. Harry looked away, but not before the faint 'No, nothing, I'm okay' reached his ears.

Harry faced the other side of the roof and saw a sight that made him smile. Ron and Hermione were here, finally. Harry greeted them, noting the arm Ron had around Hermione's waist.

"Hey, guys. What took you so long?" Harry asked.

Ron nodded his head in Hermione's direction.

"It's always the women, mate." He remarked, earning a stern look from Hermione.

"I'm sorry, Harry but it took me forever to get off work." She explained.

"Work? But, today's Saturday." Harry pointed out.

"I was well aware of that," Hermione smiled back. "But researchers don't have time off. Well, not when the deadline is less than three weeks away, at least."

"Here we go." Ron muttered as Hermione launched into a detailed explanation of what her project entailed. "…there are only so many possible meanings, but the interesting thing is that one small mistake, a single misinterpreted rune and the entire meaning can be changed. And another interesting thing is…"

"She should really look up the word interesting." Ron muttered to Harry, making the boy smile.

"I heard that, Ronald!" she said rounding on him. "But anyways, we think we may be onto the last piece and if we correctly translate the runes, we'll have the project finished _before_ the deadline. Do you know what that could do for me? Seeing as this is my first project as well, it could work wonders for me." Hermione was clearly excited. "So, that's why we're working this weekend. I was at the lab all day today and will be all day tomorrow too. Duncan and Jenna, my project colleagues, are still back at the lab but I had to leave, since I couldn't miss Damy's party."

"You came straight from work?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I brought my change of clothes with me. I knew I was going to have to come straight from work to Hogwarts. I would miss the entire party if I was to go home first."

"Or you could just apparate." Ron put in helpfully.

"You know I don't like the sensation. It makes my ears pop." Hermione complained.

Their conversation was cut short when they reached Damien and Ginny. Ron and Hermione greeted them, before wishing Damien a 'Happy Birthday'. Harry was hardly paying attention. His mind was busy with coming up with a plan. The opportunity was just too good to miss.

xxx

Harry made his way quietly to Ron's living quarters. Unlike his and his parents' quarters, Ron's room was on the same floor as the Hospital wing. In fact it was directly next to it. Harry had only been there once, since Ron preferred to hang out in his room. Harry couldn't blame him; the room smelled of disinfectant and was painted white, just like the infirmary.

Harry knew his timing was really bad, he would miss Damien's party but the chance he had been waiting for had finally come. Hermione said she came straight from work, so that meant her work things must be with her, her work bag, holding the special disk was just lying there, in Ron's room.

Harry reached the door and stood before it.

"Chudley Cannons." Harry said softly and the door swung ajar. Harry quickly entered Ron's room, pushing down the surge of shame at breaking into his best friend's room.

He spotted Hermione's clothes instantly, folded neatly and placed on a chair, next to the desk. He quickly walked over and saw with relief, her bag on top of the desk. Harry reached over to the bag but then stopped. He was stealing and from Hermione! He bit his lip, mulling over his reasons for doing this. Was it really okay for him to steal that disk from Hermione and go and find out about his counterpart? Did the burning curiosity really justify what he was about to do? Harry stood motionless for a moment, his fingers a mere inch away from Hermione's bag.

What was it he was hoping to find? What was it that he so desperately wanted to know? He thought about all that he had learned about Harry; about his childhood, about his training, his defeat of Voldemort, his fame and his life. He realised that he knew very little. Everything he had been told was by Damien and Harry was pretty certain the boy was keeping things from him. That was what was making him curious about his counterpart. What was it that Damien was trying to hide? And why?

Knowing that he couldn't get the answers, the true answers, to his questions in other way, Harry reached for the bag and slipped his hand inside. His fingers brushed against the many items inside Hermione's bag but he pushed past them. Finally his fingers brushed past the round disk and he felt the smooth metal under his fingertips. He pulled out the disk, gazing at the small device that was going to help him get all the answers he needed.

xxx

Harry climbed out the cellar of Honeydukes sweetshop, making sure to not make a sound. His years of sneaking around the Durselys and Hogwarts at night were paying off. He only wished he had his invisibility cloak with him. He had left his in his own world and the one that existed in this world was with Damien, at all times.

Harry pushed away the guilt of leaving Damien's party from his mind with a forceful shove. He had lied to his mum, saying that he felt a headache coming on and wanted to go lie down for a while. He felt awful when his mum turned worried and positively horrified eyes on him. She had paled and told him to go and see Poppy immediately. She was about to leave the party and accompany him to the hospital wing but Harry stopped her. Convincing her that he was fine and would be back after an hour or two rests. Harry hurried from the Astronomy tower. He had then stolen the disk from Hermione's bag and had used the secret passage way to get to Hogsmeade without anyone seeing him. Harry was thankful that the secret passageway was the same as in his world. He didn't have his map with him and would have had no other way to get out of the castle unseen.

Harry hurried out of the shop, which was closed so he had to squeeze out of the window. Facing the windy weather, Harry hurried to call down the Knight Bus, hoping the journey didn't take longer than two hours.

xxx

Damien searched around him but couldn't see Harry anywhere.

"Where is he?" he muttered to himself.

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Harry, I can't see him anywhere." Damien said scanning the rooftop.

"You really are very close to him, aren't you? I think it's so sweet, how much he means to you." gushed Hermione.

Damien made a face. The Harry currently here was _not_ his brother.

"Yeah, he's a freaking joy." He answered dryly. Turning to see his mum, he yelled over to her. "Mum! Have you seen where Harry went?"

Lily quickly came over to him, her eyes clouded with worry.

"Yes, he wasn't feeling well. He said he was going to lie down, for a while, he'll be back up," she quickly added, not wanting Damien to get upset. "He just needed a lie down."

She turned and left, stopping a group of students from throwing food over the rooftop. Ginny turned to look at Damien, an anxious look on her face.

"I hope he's okay. Wonder what's happened to him all of a sudden?" Hermione voiced.

Ginny and Damien were thinking the same thing.

xxx

Harry walked off the bus and saw the building in front of him, the Researchers Corner. Harry quickly walked inside. Wishing now more that ever that he was hidden from view by his cloak.

He found the front doors were still open. As Hermione had said that two of her colleagues were still working, Harry had gathered the building was still open, thus prompting him to satisfy his curiosity tonight. He knew it had to be tonight since Hermione said she was going to work again tomorrow. He had to put her disk back into her bag before then. He had figured that he would be able to do everything in the few hours he had. After all, all he wanted was a quick look at the life this other Harry lived. How long could that possibly take?

Harry found no one even looked at him as he walked inside the large atrium. The man at the Reception desk just glanced at him, not really looking at him. Harry knew that the building had lots of people coming and going at all times. So many different faces, there was no way the man would remember all of them. As Harry walked past the man however, he sprung to his feet, startling Harry.

"Mr Potter, sir!" he said, eyes wide with surprise. "It's a pleasure, sir! A real pleasure to meet you." The words tumbling from his mouth in a hurry.

"Uh, yeah, nice, nice meeting you too." Harry said seeing the happiness and joy his simple words brought to the man. He gaped at Harry as he took a few steps away. "I was…uh, just here to…to, Hermione Granger asked me to pick up her-" thankfully Harry was cut off by the man.

"Please, Mr Potter, go on ahead." He waved him over to the stairs.

Harry nodded his head and walked over to the staircase, making it seem he was heading upstairs. He had to climb up to the first floor as the man was staring at him with a big smile plastered on his face. Harry crept downstairs after a few minutes. The man was not at his desk. Hoping he was away to the bathroom and would be a few minutes, Harry hurried over to the stairs leading to the basement. He knew the receptionist was friendly and obviously in awe of him, well not of him but the Harry he was pretending to be, but he had the suspicion that he would still not be allowed to go to the library downstairs.

In a few minutes Harry reached the door. Harry carefully took out the disk from his pocket and held it against the surface of the door. The first few seconds passed and nothing happened, making Harry's already anxious heart, speed up with disappointment. He had come this far, he didn't want to leave without getting answers. But then the disk was suddenly sucked into the door, embedding itself into the door. Harry watched as the door split into two and slid open, permitting him entrance.

xxx

Ginny raced down the stairs, heading quickly to Harry's living quarters. She had to make sure he was alright. If his scar had hurt again, it was going to attract a lot of attention. She reached his door and knocked on it before trying the door. It was locked.

"Harry! Harry, are you in there?" Ginny called.

There was no answer.

Ginny took out her wand and cast a quick 'Alohomora'. The door clicked open and Ginny slipped inside. She paused in her actions when she that the bed had someone in it. The covers were pulled up, hiding Harry from view.

"Harry are you awake?" Ginny asked, edging nearer to the bed. She didn't want to disturb him if he was unwell.

There was still no answer.

Ginny moved closer, feeling a chill travel down her back.

"Harry?"

Ginny suddenly knew, even before she yanked the covers off to reveal only pillows occupying the bed, she knew that Harry was gone.

"Oh God!" she whispered, feeling undeniable dread fill her.

She knew that if Harry had lied and left Damien's party, it couldn't mean good news.

xxx

Harry stood on the platform, a weird sense of forbidding swamping his senses. He could feel his skin crawl with anticipation. He shook his hands and flexed his fingers, a bid to calm himself.

Taking a deep breath, and hoping what he was about to do would give him his answers, Harry called out, in a clear, loud voice, his own name.

"Harry James Potter."

The sound that filled the hall was actually terrifying. The screech of material flying at him made Harry cringe. He stepped away as countless books, newspapers, articles and strangely enough a pensive flew at the table before him. The table groaned as the flying items landed with a loud thud. Harry was gob smacked at the amount of material lying before him. Some thirty books were stacked on one end of the table. The stacks of newspaper took over most of the table and a small silver pensive was lying at the far end of the table.

Wondering what the hell was going on, Harry approached the table. He couldn't possibly go through all of this. It was impossible, and not in the short time he had anyway. He glanced down at the newspapers, figuring they were the best place to start. He remembered Hermione saying the material was organised in chronological order. He reached for the stack of newspapers nearest to him, checking the date first.

_November 1__st__ 1981_

Harry was shocked. He never thought Harry would be mentioned at the age of one in a newspaper. His mind told him that the date held more significance. It was the day after he was attacked in his world, his first day as an orphan. Wondering what significance the date held in _this_ world, Harry began reading the article.

'_Ministry Auror, James Potter, was admitted to St Mungos last night after a horrendous attack on him left him in need of immediate medical attention. The attack which also injured his wife, Lily Potter and friend and fellow Auror, Sirius Black, took place in their home, Godric's Hollow. It was revealed that a close friend of the Potters, Peter Pettigrew, a former Auror, was the one responsible for the attack. Along with causing grave harm to his ex best friends he delivered another devastating blow to the Potters, by abducting their one year old son, Harry James Potter. The infant was said to be sleeping at the time of the attack. Although nothing has been confirmed it is speculated by those close to the Potter household that their friend, Pettigrew was a follower of You-Know-Who and took the infant Harry Potter to him. The body of the child has yet to be discovered. The reasons why Pettigrew would take the fifteen month old child to You-Know-Who has yet to be established but rumours of a Prophecy linking the infant Potter with the self proclaimed Dark Lord is seeming to be the only possible explanation…_'

Harry stopped reading, his mind reeling from the news. Damien _had_ lied to him; he had suspected the boy of lying but not to this extent. Casting that paper aside, Harry looked at the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that. At least five of the next papers were of the abduction of Harry James Potter. Roughly a month later, beginning of December 1981, Harry saw an article saying that a child's body had been discovered and was thought to be of Harry Potter. Harry saw the tear stained faces of his parents as they were caught on camera as they were leaving the Ministry. His dad had his face lowered and was gripping onto his mum's hand, leading her out. Sirius was close after them, his face also wet from tears.

Harry cast that paper aside, not wanting to see their grief stricken faces. He checked the date of next newspaper and realised that it was fifteen years after the date of the first paper.

_September 2__nd__ 1996_

'_Another term started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But this year a surprising newcomer has joined the students for their sixth year. Harry James Potter, previously thought dead, has made a shocking reappearance. The young man, now sixteen years old, joined his classmates yesterday and appeared non-fazed by all the attention surrounding him. The mystery surrounding the teen's disappearance and his whereabouts for the last fifteen years have not been disclosed, although rumours of the boy being abroad with distant family, keeping safe from You-Know-Who have emerged. Mr and Mrs Potter were unavailable for comment._'

Harry pushed the paper aside. What was it Damien had told him? Harry had been away from home, training to better himself. If that was true, then why did his parents pretend he had died? He didn't think his parents, or any parents for that matter, could pretend such a thing. And Harry was only a baby, one year old, how could he possibly be sent away for training? And what about the dead body of a child that they had found and buried as Harry, what was all that about? It made no sense. Harry didn't even consider the possibility that the first article he had read was right, and that Harry had been taken to Voldemort.

He picked up the next newspaper;

'_A shocking attack left numerous Aurors injured and twelve dead. But what is more disconcerting is where this attack took place. At around eight pm, last night, an army of Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! How the masked men were able to come to the grounds of the legendary school are still being investigated. As far as we know, no students or staffs were harmed. But one student was taken away by the Death Eaters. Several eye witness accounts confirmed that they saw Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, take the hand of the infamous Death Eater known as Bellatrix Lestrange and disapparate with her. As soon as the sixteen year old had left the grounds with Lestrange, the attack ceased and the remaining Death Eaters disapparated, leaving in their wake the dead bodies of the brave Aurors that gave their life to defend the school and it's students…_'

Harry stared at the words, trying to make sense of them. That couldn't be right, could it? Harry left _willingly_? Why would he do that? Harry must have been blackmailed to leave with the Death Eaters quietly and without resistance. Maybe the Death Eaters threatened to hurt the students and that's why Harry left with them. That must be it.

It was the next paper he picked up that brought the truth crashing down on him.

'_The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge has made a shocking revelation today. He has confirmed that sixteen year old, Harry James Potter, who was taken away at the age of fifteen months and subsequently was missing for the past fifteen years, is none other than the infamous Dark Prince, follower and adopted son of You-Know-Who! The Minister has confirmed in his exclusive interview with the Daily Prophet, that the boy was captured in a raid last year but seeing that he was the eldest son of a high ranking Auror, James Potter, he was given a chance to redeem himself. The sixteen year old Death Eater, named the Dark Prince after his adoptive father, the Dark Lord, was responsible for many crimes in the last few years. His identity was always kept hidden by a silver mask, alike to the white masks the Death Eaters wear. The Dark Prince has many horrific crimes to his name, including many accounts of murder. One of them is the horrendous torture and death of Frank Longbottom and his wife Alice Longbottom…_'

Harry dropped the paper, stepping back from the table. His heart was pounding inside his chest, he felt dizzy, disorientated. He gripped onto the edge of the table to keep from falling over. '_It can't be true!_' he thought to himself. It just couldn't be true. Harry was brought up by Voldemort! He was his…his son!?

Harry felt very sick, his head thumping painfully from shock. His knees suddenly buckled under him and he sat down on the cold ground, shaking from head to foot. '_This is all wrong!_' he thought to himself. '_Harry was a follower of Voldemort, he had __**killed**__?_' His stomach lurched again as he thought about the two names he had read '_Frank and Alice Longbottom, Neville's parents. Harry had killed Neville's mum and dad!_'

Harry willed away the urge to retch. He just stayed on the ground, mind reeling over what he had read. A big part of him didn't believe it, it was ludicrous, there was no way Voldemort would bring up a child and no matter what world Harry Potter was is, never would he serve such a monster as Voldemort. Never! Never would Harry _kill_!

But then, he thought about the other Harry, the way he talked, the way his eyes seemed colder, darker. His manner of speaking, his confidence, everything about him was…different.

Harry shook his head; he wasn't going to believe what was written in the newspapers. Last year he had been written about by Rita Skeeter and all of it was utter rubbish. It was totally made up and false. Getting to his feet, he neared the table, trying his best not to look at the stack of newspapers. '_But all of this can't be false and exaggerated; something in it must be true._' A voice in his mind told him.

Harry picked up the next paper but all it had was more murders Harry had committed, his crime list, the trouble Dumbledore was facing at trying to keep Harry from facing Azkaban. Harry's head spun with the news. '_It's not true! It's not true!_' he kept telling himself, but the more papers he read, the weaker his belief got.

He came across a copy of the Daily prophet that had a large picture adorning the front cover. The picture had a heading of 'WANTED' and a reward notice was printed below it. Harry stared at the picture, at the face, _his_ face, noting the cold, green eyes and their piercing gaze. Harry remembered the way Harry had looked at him when he met him at Privet Drive. He had noted it then as well, he had a way of looking at you that was unnerving.

Harry pushed the papers away angrily, his breathing coming in great gasps now as he fought to keep a control on his emotions. Harry looked over to the far end of the table, noticing the small pensive sitting at the edge. With trembling fingers, Harry pulled it in front of him. Memories, white silvery wisps of smoke were swimming inside the stone basin, inviting him. Suddenly words appeared inside the pensive, big black bold letters appeared across the bowl, '**Memory presented at Harry Potter's Trial**' Harry didn't know what he was about to see, or whose memory he was about to witness, but he was ready to plunge into the bowl. He needed answers, answers he could trust. With a deep breath, Harry threw himself head first into the pensive.

He fell flat onto his face, onto cold but soft ground. Looking up all Harry saw was green grass, tinted with silvery white frost. Harry picked himself up from the ground and looked around him. His eyes widened when he saw the sight before him. The scarlet coloured train was before him, standing still, a fallen tree on the tracks stopping its journey.

Harry could see commotion happening inside the train, faces of students and grown ups were staring out the windows, fear imprinted on them. Not understanding what was happening; Harry looked around him at his surroundings. He turned to look behind him and that was when he saw it. The sight took all the breath out of him.

Walking in front of an army of Death Eaters, leading them, was Harry. His wand was already in his hand but held casually to the side. He walked with ease, confidence; authority. His icy gaze was fixed on the train and the frantic people trapped inside. The slight smirk on his face made the other Harry sick to the stomach.

Harry stood where he was, transfixed to the sight before him, unable to move, unable to take in what he was seeing with his eyes. The image of Harry walked right through him, and carried on, the Death Eaters following him, white masks on their faces, black cloaks flowing behind them.

Harry watched as they stopped a few meters from the train, watching the panicked people inside dart away from the windows. He saw Harry turn to face the Death Eaters, his emerald eyes flashing dangerously at them. His words were spoken quietly but clearly.

"Remember my orders; no one goes into the train. If a student comes out of the train, you merely stun them, understand. If any of you kill a student, I will kill you in return. We are here for the Aurors, particularly Moody. The message we are sending to the wizarding world is that these Aurors can't protect them. True protection lies with father. Understand!"

Harry's words rang in Harry's ears, causing actual pain. '_Father, he called Voldemort, father!_' Harry thought to himself. Harry numbly watched, forced to admit the truth of his counterpart, as the memory Harry threatened the Aurors to come out and fight. When they did come out, Harry fought them.

Fifteen year old Harry suddenly understood the fear he had seen in many Hogwarts student's eyes when they looked at him. He saw the same fear in their eyes now as they stared at Harry from inside the train. Harry was brutal in his attacks and his behaviour with Moody was exceptionally frightening.

The memory suddenly flickered, the sight before him became fuzzy and unclear. Harry squinted against the unfocused images, trying to see what was happening. As sudden as it had started, it stopped. The images cleared up and Harry sucked in a breath at the sight. An injured Sirius was lying on the ground, his leg clearly broken, blood coming from his nose.

"Damien, move!" Sirius said weakly.

That was when Harry looked away from Sirius and noticed Damien standing before him, his back was turned to Sirius. He was facing Harry and pleading with him.

"Harry, please don't do this! Uncle Siri didn't do anything. Please stop this!" Damien cried with clear pain in his voice.

Harry felt his heart plummet into his stomach. Harry had hurt Sirius! He was the one responsible for Sirius' injuries.

"Damy, get back in the train." Harry hissed at Damien, his wand clutched so tightly, his knuckles had turned white.

When Damien didn't move, Harry blasted him out of the way, throwing him cruelly away from Sirius. That was all Harry saw. He had seen enough. He didn't want to see his counterpart torturing Sirius, he _couldn't_ see that, he would go insane if he did. With a cry he forced himself out of the pensive. He fell back onto the cold stone floor of the library, the table in front of him.

Taking deep gulps of air, Harry forced himself to calm down but it was futile. A hurricane of emotions was engulfing him, making him play back the memory he just saw, see all the reports he had read, see all the crimes his counterpart had done.

In a flurry of rage, Harry got up, grabbed the papers he had read and darted off the platform, rushing back to question the boy who had lied atrociously to him. In his haste to leave, Harry forgot all about the silver disk, still embedded inside the door.

xxx

Damien was still up, even though most of the castle inhabitants had fallen asleep. His parents were in their room, happily oblivious to the fact that the boy they thought to be their Harry was still missing. Thanks to Ginny and her well practised spell, she convinced James and Lily that Harry was still asleep. Damien had to record his own voice, muttering sleepily that he wasn't feeling well and wanted to sleep. His voice was similar enough to his brothers so that wasn't a problem. James and Lily had only come in to check on him twice before retiring to their rooms.

Ginny was still up but was in the common room, promising Damien that she would stay up and wait for him. Damien was inside Harry's room, waiting to speak to him. 'Where the hell is he?' he thought for the hundredth time.

He was sitting in front of the roaring fire, trying to melt the cold spot in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, he could just feel it.

The door behind him clicked open and Damien turned around quickly. He was greeted by the sight of Harry, his back turned to him as he shut the door closed behind him.

"Harry, where have you been? I've been looking…" Damien's words trailed off as Harry turned around to face him.

It wasn't the distressed expression on his face that caught Damien's attention, but the numerous copies of The Daily Prophets clutched in his hands. Damien could feel time slow down as he recognised the old copies of the newspaper. He looked up as Harry turned to face him fully, the newspapers held tightly in his hands. Damien met the burning emerald gaze head on and for the first time since meeting this Harry, did he see a little of his brother in him.

Harry walked towards Damien; slow, careful, measured steps led him to stand before the hazel eyed boy. Damien kept his gaze fixed on Harry, so he wouldn't have to look at the newspapers. He didn't ever want to see those reports again.

Harry held out the papers but Damien didn't take them. He turned guilt filled eyes to him instead and waited for the inevitable.

"He was sent on training?" Harry choked out, hurt and anger closing up his throat.

Damien remained quiet, opting to just not talk right now.

"This, this was his _training_?!" Harry asked throwing the papers onto the small coffee table. The papers scattered, showing images of Harry and headlines reading '_The Dark Prince is really Harry Potter!_'

Damien looked up from them, feeling his heart plummet to the bottom of his stomach.

"Harry, I…"

"Don't!" Harry yelled loudly. "No more lies!"

Damien felt his cheeks burn and he looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry…" he started but was once again cut off by Harry.

"Sorry? Sorry about what? Sorry about lying to me? About keeping me in the dark? How many lies did you tell me, Damien? Or should I ask if anything you told me was remotely true?!"

"I know what you're thinking, but you have to listen to me, you have to believe me…"

"Believe you? You actually think I'll listen to another word you'll say?" Harry asked incredulously.

Damien could understand what the boy was going through. He was in a different world, with people he never knew and he just found out that all he had been told about this world was a lie.

"I never wanted to lie to you." Damien told him in a quiet voice.

"But you did." Harry seethed. Looking down he saw the scattered newspapers, lying around the table. "You thought you would hide what he was, what he had become," Raising burning emerald eyes to Damien again, he spat out the words. "A murderer!" then in a whisper he choked out, "Voldemort's…son?"

Damien could feel the pain in Harry. He was devastated with the truth, broken at the realisation of what he, in another world, had done; he had served the man who had killed his parents.

"I know you're mad at me. I understand that you can't trust anything I say, but please Harry, please listen to me. Give me one chance and I'll explain everything to you, everything, I swear!" Damien pleaded.

"One chance? You had plenty of chances. I asked you many times for the truth and all you gave me was lies. Lies to protect that, that murderer!" Harry yelled angrily, still not able to fully comprehend the truth of his counterpart.

Damien's expression changed and he clenched his hands into fists in anger.

"I know you're upset, but don't talk about Harry like that." He said.

"Why? I'm not saying anything wrong, am I? He is a murderer, a killer!" Harry yelled, near hysterical now, rage swimming in his orbs.

"Harry, stop it!" Damien warned.

"I can't believe I ever thought he was like me. He's _nothing_ like me, nothing at all!" Harry yelled, saying the words more for his own benefit than to Damien.

"You mean the boy who gave you a chance to see your parents?" Damien asked icily. "Yeah, you're right. You're _nothing_ like him!"

Harry opened his mouth to retaliate but suddenly his words died in his throat. His eyes widened in shock and he stumbled back a step.

"Oh Merlin!" he gasped. "He's, he's there, with…with my friends and…" he couldn't finish his words. Images of Ron and Hermione flashed in his mind. They were with him, mistaking him as their best friend. He turned to Damien, a fierce look in his eyes. "If he hurts my friends, I swear, I'll kill him." he said with all the sincerity he possessed.

"Oh, shut up, Harry!" Damien bit out. "Harry wouldn't hurt them, no matter what!"

"Just like he didn't hurt Sirius?" Harry asked. "Or you? I saw what he did to you. He blasted you out of the way when you were trying to protect Sirius."

Damien's eyes widened at that.

"How did you…?" he asked, perplexed. "It wasn't like that! Harry was protecting me!"

"Save it!" he hissed angrily before turning around and heading for the door.

"Harry! Where are you going?" Damien asked, panicked.

"I can't be near those who lied to me." Harry said, without looking back. He was about to walk out when Damien grabbed him from his arm and swung him around.

"You can't leave, not without listening to me first!" Damien told him.

"Why? So you can lie and cover up for _him_ again?" Harry asked.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Damien hissed at him. "You obviously don't know the whole truth, that's why you're talking like this!"

"I know enough!" Harry hissed back, getting his arm out of the strong grip.

"No, you don't!" Damien said through clenched teeth. "You're blaming Harry without knowing everything that happened."

"What more is there to know?" Harry asked. "He killed innocent people, he tortured them on Voldemort's orders, he's no more than a filthy Death Eater!"

"Shut up, Harry!" Damien erupted.

"I read what he did, I know he killed Neville's parents," Harry willed away the image of his round faced friend from his mind. "He's the one responsible for their deaths!"

"No, he didn't kill them. Harry saved them, you don't know what you're talking about." Damien tried, pushing his own anger away so he could explain to the irate boy. "You only know half truths. Harry pretended to kill them, but he actually saved them, they're alive, I swear!"

Harry wanted to punch something, hard. It took everything he had to keep from hitting Damien, for his continuous lying. Why was he protecting him? Was it just because he was his brother? Did blood do that to you? Make you ignore all the crimes one committed?

"Harry, think about it! If Harry really had done all that stuff, do you really think he would be walking around Hogwarts? Do you really think mum and dad would be okay with him?" Damien tried to make the boy see sense, see that there was more to what he had found out.

"They're his parents." Harry said, his voice sounding small and broken.

"Okay, but what about Professor Dumbledore? He wouldn't put his students in danger would he? And Harry was the one who killed Voldemort, you're forgetting about that!" Damien said quickly, hoping Harry would calm down, long enough for him to tell him everything.

Harry glared at Damien.

"That's probably a lie too, maybe Harry never killed Voldemort!" he spat.

"Will you just think about what you're saying!" Damien spat back. "Take a minute and just think, if Harry was a _Death Eater_ why would he be excused and not sent to Azkaban?"

Harry's mind was not willing to accept anymore right now. He had already had enough.

"I don't care why," he lied. "All I want is to get back and save my friends." He said.

"How are you going to do that?! The compass doesn't work!" Damien said, still trying his best to keep his voice down.

"Then I'll find another way!" Harry yelled and made to leave again.

Damien grabbed him again, an attempt to stop him. The next moment found both boys aiming their wands at each other.

"Harry, please. I don't want to hurt you." Damien said sincerely.

"You already have." Harry said, seeing the way the boy's face fell at his words. But he didn't care, not right now.

Before Damien could take aim, Harry had disarmed him by 'Expellarimus'. Damien's wand zoomed out of his hand and fell to the other side of the room.

Damien was surprised and just stood in front of Harry, watching the wand in his hand carefully. But Harry didn't fire any other curses at the boy and instead turned around to leave. He was suddenly knocked against the door, making his head bang on the wooden door. Harry quickly regained his balance and turned to see Damien.

"You're not going anywhere, not until you learn the whole truth." Damien said with a glower.

Harry gripped his wand tightly.

"I've had enough of your _truths_." He spat.

Damien suddenly lunged at him, surprising Harry. He grabbed a fistful of his robes and his other hand wrapped around the wrist of his wand holding hand. Damien smashed Harry into the wall, banging his hand into the wall repeatedly, an attempt to knock the wand out of his hand. But Harry's grip never faltered. He kicked out; catching Damien's leg and making him back off for a moment. Damien was reluctant to hurt him, but the situation was getting out of hand. He turned his body around so he was facing the opposite way, still holding Harry's arm and twisted the arm back at an unnatural angle. His brother had taught him the angle at which to break the arm. But Damien didn't want to break Harry's arm, all he wanted was to disarm him.

The wand fell to the floor with a clatter and Damien instantly let go. He kicked the wand away and stepped away.

"Harry…"

The rest of his words were caught in his throat as a fist smashed into him. He fell back, surprised. It didn't hurt, but it was the shock of the attack than made him stumble backwards. Harry was breathing heavily, anger and rage in his eyes. He made to grab Damien again but the boy stepped out of the way, his training allowing him to easily defend himself.

Harry, who had seen his fair share of fist fights, mostly from Dudley's behaviour with him, made to attack Damien again. His fist just missed Damien as the boy dodged the blows.

"Harry, please!" he said as he swerved back, dodging the fists.

Damien was suddenly caught again, this time by a kick and he fell backwards. Felling his own anger get out of control he charged at the boy, 'fine, if this is how he wants it!' he thought to himself. Damien hit Harry, hard, his punch catching Harry's chin, throwing him to the floor. Damien leaned down and grabbed Harry, turning him around, preparing to deliver another punch. But he found himself facing a wand, _his_ wand.

"Reducto!"

Damien was sent to the other side of the room, smashing into the book shelf, before falling to the ground. All the breath was knocked out of him. Gasping at the pain in his back, Damien picked himself up. He looked up and saw the room empty, Harry had left.

xxx

Harry bolted up the stairs, furious thoughts racing in his mind. He had to get back home; he had to get the other Harry away from his friends, away from those he cared for. He wiped a hand over his eyes, vaguely aware of the wetness he felt there. He didn't want to stay here any longer, he couldn't pretend to be _him_, not anymore.

He reached his destination a lot sooner than he had anticipated. He stood before the gargoyle, catching his breath, staring at the stone with piercing green eyes. He knew he was the only person who could help him. He had always been there for him, no matter what the situation had been, he had helped him, cared for him.

He was the only one who could get him home. He had to tell Dumbledore everything.

Taking a deep breath, Harry stepped forward, ready to try and guess the password. But as soon as his shadow fell on the stone, the gargoyle jumped aside and revealed the spiral staircase, leading to the Headmaster's office. Harry stepped onto the staircase, just as a shout was heard behind him.

"Harry! No!"

He looked behind him and just caught a glimpse of Damien dashing towards him, but it was too late, the stairs had already taken him to the Headmaster's office, blocking Damien from following him. Harry knocked on the wooden door before opening it, not even waiting for a response.

"Mr Potter?" Dumbledore's surprised voice rang in the room.

Harry walked in, closing the door behind him.

--

_**Canon **__**World**_

The candles flickered slightly as the soft breeze carried through the room. The torches burning fiercely in their wall sockets were giving enough light but still the room was cast in shadows. 'Why is that?' Lucius thought to himself. 'It always seems like there isn't enough light in here.' The darkness was plain unnerving.

His attention snapped back to the man standing before him, standing with his back turned to him. Red, pitiless eyes were staring out of a window, into the darkness of the night. For long minutes no sound was heard, other than the gentle hiss of the serpent, Nagini, sitting next to her master's throne. Its large eyes gleaming in the darkness, fixed on Lucius. The blond haired man forcefully looked away, not wanting to see the hunger in those frightening eyes.

"You are certain," the cold voice asked, making Lucius almost jump in surprise. "It was this that he was after?"

Lucius saw the golden compass lift from the table and levitate in the air as Voldemort motioned to it.

"Yes, my Lord. He was after the compass." He answered promptly.

The Dark Lord turned to face his servant.

"The memory, show it to me again." He ordered as he came to stand before him.

Obediently, Lucius brought forward the memory of only a few hours ago, when Potter fought and killed a large group of Balverines. He let his master see how Dumbledore's golden boy, saved his life from the attacking beast.

Voldemort pulled out of Lucius' mind, a thoughtful look on his snakelike face. He turned to look at the compass, still levitated in the air.

"I wonder…" Voldemort said out loud, red eyes narrowed in thought. "But it still wouldn't explain why he saved you." He added, gesturing to Lucius. The aristocrat chose to remain silent; Voldemort wasn't actually talking to him.

Suddenly the Dark Lord let out a hiss, something that made Lucius' blood run cold. The serpent lifted its large head and slithered over to Voldemort, all the time hissing and flicking out its forked tongue.

Lucius stood still as the other two conversed in parseltongue. Finally Voldemort turned his attention back to the lone man in the room.

"How old is your son now, Lucius?" he suddenly asked.

Lucius felt dread build in him.

"Fifteen, my Lord." He answered, keeping his face blank and emotionless; hiding how much the mention of Draco in Voldemort's presence worried him.

"Ah, perfect!" Voldemort hissed in delight. He walked smoothly over to his inner circle Death Eater. "I have just the job for him." he said, his red eyes boring into Lucius' grey ones.

"Yes my Lord. Whatever you wish." Lucius dutifully replied back.

xxx

"Did you see this? What is going on?"

"I don't know. What is the Ministry playing at?!"

"It says here that she'll be able to inspect other teachers, oh, that won't go down well at all! Can you imagine McGonagall?"

Harry ignored the excited whispering of the students around him. They were all in frenzy over the announcement in the Daily Prophet that the Ministry had appointed Dolores Umbridge as Hogwarts High Inquisitor. She was going to be carrying out inspections on all the teachers, ensuring they were teaching 'according to Ministry standards'. Harry snorted at the thought. The Ministry standards were possibly lower than Hogwarts.

"This is outrageous!" Hermione hissed as she threw her paper onto the table. "She can't possibly be given power over the rest of the staff. It's not right!"

"I know, Hermione. It's all wrong." Ron said shaking his head. He scooped up more porridge and shoved the loaded spoonful into his mouth.

Harry didn't comment at all, he had better things, _proper_ things to worry about. Lucius Malfoy had taken the compass and Harry knew it was back with Voldemort. The distorted map now residing in his trunk was evidence to that. Harry had almost smiled at the sight of the map; this Voldemort was just like _his_ Voldemort. Both liked their privacy spells.

"I wonder who she's going to inspect first?" Hermione asked, drawing Harry out of his thoughts.

"I hope it's McGonagall," Ron laughed. "Umbridge will probably be transfigured into a toad five minutes into the inspection!"

xxx

Harry was on his way to his first class, mind still coming up with what he could do to get the compass back. He felt his heart skip a beat as he thought about Voldemort. Lucius would have told him about the difference in this Harry. His battle with the Balverines and the very blatant rescue of Lucius was sure to cause suspicion in Voldemort. Harry mentally kicked himself. He had really messed up. He had acted with the knowledge that he would obliviate Lucius before leaving with the compass, but the arrival of the Balverines had messed all that up. Lucius left with the compass and his memories intact. That was not good, not good at all.

"Hiya Harry!"

Harry stopped, he knew that voice. That annoying, squeaky voice. He turned around and saw the mousy haired Gryffindor, Creevey, Dennis Creevey. The boy was smiling at Harry, waving at him with that stupid grin on his face. He was walking with his second year Gryffindors, heading for the classroom across the hall.

Harry's fists clenched with anger. This was the first time he had seen the boy, since learning that he was the one who was drugging him. He glared at the boy, making his small face fall with confusion. He dropped his hand and stared at Harry, clearly hurt that his 'idol' was glaring hatefully at him. With that same hurt puppy look, he entered the classroom, still looking back at Harry.

Harry knew it wasn't _this_ Dennis Creevey that had caused him an addiction to the sleeping potion but it was difficult to remember that when he felt so damn angry. He had half a mind to go in after the boy and teach him a lesson, for his counterpart's sheer stupidity.

But he didn't, mostly because Ron and Hermione started talking to him, forcing him to look away from the direction of the second year's classroom and head towards his own class. His mood got worse when he learned that his first class was with Snape.

xxx

Potions was, as usual, another test for Harry to keep his patience. Snape was trying to get to him; he was trying to find fault in everything Harry did. He wasn't cutting the roots finely enough, he was stirring too aggressively, the heat under the cauldron was too high, his powdered claw of Salamander was not fine enough. By the end of it, Harry was moments away from dumping the scolding hot liquid over the greasy head of the snarky bastard.

"Mr Potter, stay at the end of class."

Harry glared hatefully after at him. He wondered if he would get away with hurting him, then obliviating him afterwards. Then remembering what happened with Lucius, he stopped himself.

Hermione gave him a pat on the arm before she left, warning him not to land himself in detention. Harry ignored her. Once again, the man turned to face him after closing the door after the last student left.

"Mr Potter, you will remember I gave you a time limit to bring me the list of ingredients you used to make your _wonder_ potion." His lips curled into a sneer. "You have surpassed that deadline. I assume you have the list ready for me."

Harry patted his robes pocket, mockingly, pretending he was looking for it. His fingers felt a folded piece of parchment in his robes pocket. Surprised he took it out, curious to see what it was. He recognised the folded piece of paper. It was the letter _snuffles_ had sent him. He had yet to read it.

Snape actually looked a little shocked at the reproduced parchment. He wasn't expecting it. He reached out to take the paper but Harry pulled back, not letting the Potion master's fingers anywhere near it.

"Is that the list?" Snape asked tersely.

"Actually, it's a love letter." Harry said, faking innocence. "I was just going to leave at on your desk for you, but since you're here." He offered the paper to him.

Snape clenched his teeth in anger but reached out to take the paper from him. Harry yanked his hand back and pocketed the letter, giving the spy Death Eater a sardonic look.

"Very hopeful, aren't you?" he mocked the Professor.

"The list Mr Potter, where is it?" Snape asked, his annoyance showing clearly now.

"I told you then, I'm not going to do it." Harry answered.

"I can give you a week's worth of detention." Snape threatened.

"No, you can't," Harry explained. "I'm refusing to do what you asked _after_ class, not during it. You can't give me detention for that and you know it."

Snape's lips pressed in so tightly they were turning white.

"Do not assume you can tell me what to do, Mr Potter." He hissed dangerously.

Harry smirked back and leaned in to whisper,

"I just did."

With that the boy headed out the door, ignoring the threats the Potion master was making to him.

As soon as he walked out he met Ron and Hermione.

"What did he want now?" Ron asked as they walked out to attend their Herbology lesson.

"What he usually wants, to annoy the hell out of me." Harry answered. "You reckon anyone will miss him? You know if he mysteriously disappears?" Harry asked with a glower.

"Probably just his mum." Ron sniggered.

"His mum's dead." Harry answered back.

Hermione looked affronted while Ron just stared at Harry.

"Harry! That's awful!" she said, her voice high pitched.

"What? It's true. She is dead." Harry explained, not understanding what he had said that was wrong.

"Even so, you shouldn't say it like that. It's disrespectful." Hermione said, looking very upset with her friend.

"Yeah, Potter. Listen to the mudblood. It's disrespectful."

The three Gryffindors turned around to spot Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy walking behind them. Malfoy had a smirk on his face, his grey eyes fixed unwaveringly on Harry.

"Piss off Malfoy and stop eavesdropping." Ron said, turning back, ignoring the Slytherins.

"Oh, is Weasel getting annoyed." Pansy cooed in an annoying voice.

"Come on, let's go, just ignore them." Hermione prompted and took hold of each boys arm and continued down the path to the greenhouse.

"She's right though," Malfoy called out, still following closely behind. "It is disrespectful. You really shouldn't talk about dead mothers, Potter, seeing as you've got one too. Poor mudblood dropped dead before she could teach you any manners!"

A howl of laughter left the four Slytherins. Ron turned around to yell at them but stopped as the laughter suddenly died. He looked to his right and saw why. Harry had stopped in his track and had turned to face the Slytherins. His face was still eerily calm but his eyes, his eyes were blazing. Hermione watched, transfixed as Harry's usual bright, emerald green eyes now looked a dark, poison green.

"You want to try that again, Malfoy." Harry said quietly, his words had a slight hiss in them that terrified even the two Gryffindors. Harry was walking towards the group of Slytherins.

"Harry, Harry, just leave it." Hermione tried but Harry ignored her.

Malfoy suddenly was lost for words. He stood his ground as Harry approached him but he felt his heart beat unusually fast. Harry was standing directly in front of him now, his eyes piercing into Malfoy's grey ones.

"Say that again." Harry hissed, staring right into his eyes, not allowing his gaze to be broken.

Malfoy, despite his initial fear opened his mouth to hurl more abuse, but found that he couldn't. He couldn't open his mouth. He tried furiously but found he had no control over his mouth. His lips felt like they had been sealed together. He panicked, spectacularly. He fell back, onto his two friends, his girlfriend staring at him in shock. Malfoy's eyes were wide with panic and he was staring at Harry in disbelief.

The three Slytherins were yelling at Malfoy, asking him what happened but he couldn't answer them, no matter how hard he tried.

"If you're going to talk about my mum like that, you don't talk at all." Harry told him.

Malfoy turned and ran, his three cronies running after him, yelling at him.

Harry turned around to face his two friends and saw them staring at him with disbelief.

"What?" he asked, now a lot calmer.

"What did you do to him?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't do anything to him. I thought you had hit him with another silent spell." Harry lied.

"I didn't do that to him!" Hermione yelled as Ron turned to look at her.

"It must have been Ron then." Harry said, shifting the focus onto his red haired friend.

"Me? I didn't bloody do that! I wouldn't know how to." Ron defended himself.

"Well, it wasn't me. You saw I didn't even have my wand pointed at him." Harry said, walking over to them.

"That…that was really freaky." Hermione said. "I mean, I think that may even be dark magic." She whispered.

Harry rolled his eyes. It wasn't dark magic; it was a temporary spell that would wear off, eventually. Harry had actually used that one on many people, even Bella once, although that had been an accident. She was teaching him the spell and he hit her with it by mistake.

"Well, he shouldn't have said anything about Harry's mum anyway. He deserved it." Ron said.

Hermione noticed the way Harry looked at him and once again she felt the sting of suspicion hit her.

xxx

Ron found Hermione sitting alone by the lake that evening.

"There you are," he said as he collapsed next to her. "What are you doing out here, its freezing." Ron asked.

"I just wanted to be alone." Hermione explained. "What are you doing here?" then noticing the boy was alone, she asked, "Where's Harry?"

Ron shrugged as he sat down next to her.

"I don't know. I think he might be doing detention with Snape. I can't find him anywhere. He just sort of disappeared after dinner."

Hermione looked out before her again, watching the giant squid lift out a tentacle, as if gesturing a 'hello' to them.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Ron asked. "You've been quiet all day." He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I don't know, Ron," Hermione started. "I just don't know how to explain what I'm feeling. It's very complicated."

"What is complicated?" Ron questioned, scooting closer to the girl. It really was very cold.

"Harry," Hermione said the name with a sigh. "Ever since this summer, Harry's just not been himself. I didn't notice it as much before but lately it seems everything he does, he does it differently. I can really see how much he has changed."

"People change, Hermione. A lot has happened to him. You were the one explaining to me that things like seeing death and You-Know-Who would change a person." Ron said.

"I know, I know," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead anxiously. "I know I said all that, and I really believe that Harry has changed because of what happened, but at the same time, I can see a lot of differences that don't make sense."

"Like?" Ron asked.

"Like, for example, the way he talks. He acts like he knows everything."

"Yeah, annoying that, isn't it?" Ron asked with a pointed look at the bushy haired girl.

"It's different to me," Hermione defended. "I do a lot of studying and I like reading. When have you ever seen Harry lift a book? Or do homework on time. I used to always have to nag you both to do your work but now, Harry usually has everything done the day he gets the homework." Hermione explained in a worried voice.

"You're actually worried because Harry is doing his homework on time?" Ron asked with a grin. Then pulling a fake frown he dropped his voice to a whisper "yeah, you're right. Something is up with him."

"If you're only going to ridicule me then…"

"Okay, okay, sorry. But Hermione, you're getting worked up for no reason."

Hermione bit her lip, wondering if she should voice her fears. She knew Ron was very close to Harry, she didn't want him to think she was attacking him.

"Ron, don't you think Harry's gotten very…cocky?" she asked carefully.

Ron pulled a face.

"No, I don't think so."

"You haven't noticed the way he talks? Or the way he looks at others? He doesn't do it with us as much but I've noticed the way he looks at Dean and Seamus and everyone else. He kind of, well, looks down on them. I've even see him look at Neville like he doesn't like him. I…I don't know how to explain it." she flustered.

"Hermione, look, Harry's always been talked about, pointed at, picked at even. Before, he never knew how to deal with it. But this year, he's at Hogwarts with a new look. Girls are actually paying him attention and I don't just mean Cho," at Hermione's shocked look he sighed. "Yes I do notice these things too, I'm not completely stupid."

"Sorry" Hermione said in a small voice.

"Harry's looks stronger so he feels stronger. He's getting attention but he feels he can deal with it because of his new found confidence. He doesn't look down on others, Harry would never do that, but he's more confident than he was before so he doesn't let others get him down anymore."

Hermione was staring at him with awe.

"How do you…where did you learn this from?" she asked.

"This isn't something you learn from a book, Hermione," Ron said. "It's just something you know. Having five older brothers, will teach you a thing or two about confidence issues."

Hermione smiled at Ron and reached for his hand. Ron looked at her with surprise so she quickly withdrew her hand.

"So, you think what Harry is acting like, it's all normal?" she asked.

"Yeah"

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip, unsure if she should mention what else she had noticed about Harry. Thinking that she had said a lot already, it wouldn't make any difference if she did, she went ahead.

"There's something else," she took a deep breath. "I've noticed this, this thing with Harry's eyes. They…well, this is going to sound strange but when Harry gets really angry, like he did with Malfoy today, his eyes seem to get darker. The actual colour gets darker."

Ron looked lost.

"Really? I never noticed that."

"You've never looked that's why. I saw it once in Potions, when Professor Snape gave Harry and me zero marks and accused us of cheating. Harry was glaring at him and his eyes…it was very frightening." She licked her lips before continuing. "And today when he looked at Malfoy, his eyes went all dark again."

Ron thought about this.

"Maybe Harry is a metamorphmagus." He suggested.

"I think Harry would have realised that a lot sooner!" Hermione answered.

"Maybe his eyes always did that when he got angry. We probably never noticed because of his glasses."

Hermione thought that over. It didn't seem plausible. No matter how big the frames of glasses were, they wouldn't hide eyes that changed colour. She was positive that Harry's eyes never used to do that before. So the question was, why was it happening now?

xxx

Harry walked down the dark alley, fully satisfied. He had had a great time in the ring today. Three fights and three big opponents, now that's what he needed to release all his pent up frustration. Harry walked around the corner and cast a quick look around. He was ready to apparate back to Hogwarts. He had felt his anger rise to the surface all day today and Malfoy's comment about his mum had just driven him over the edge. With a smirk he realised that his spell must have worn off by now, Draco had his big mouth back but now he will watch it in his presence.

Once satisfied that the area was clear for him to disapparate, Harry disappeared with a quiet pop. He arrived at his usual spot, behind a hut, just at the outskirts of the forbidden forest. No one lived in the hut, not as far as Harry had seen and at this time in the night, no one was going to be around to see him appear out of thin air. Or so, Harry thought. Harry turned around to sneak his way back into the castle but suddenly froze. Standing before him, staring at him with wide, unbelieving eyes were Ron and Hermione.

xxx

'Oh, crap!' thought Harry as he saw the two Gryffindors staring at him in fright.

"I can explain," Harry started, edging towards them.

Two wands were whipped out in response. Harry stopped where he was, eyeing the wands.

"Who are you?!" Hermione asked, her voice shaky with fear.

"It's me, Harry." The boy answered.

"You're not Harry!" Ron yelled. "Harry couldn't apparate. He's not learnt that yet!"

"And no one can apparate whilst inside Hogwarts," Hermione piped in. "You're obviously using something _dark_ to break the anti-appartation wards."

"I swear, I'm Harry Potter. Just lower your wands and I'll explain everything." Harry said, hoping the two listened to him. He didn't want to have to resort to his other methods.

"Nice try! We should have known that you weren't Harry from the very start!" Hermione hissed angrily. Then looking over at Ron she added. "Confidence issues, my ass!"

Ron threw her a disgruntled look, but kept his wand at Harry.

"Stay where you are!" Hermione yelled as Harry took another step towards them.

"Just lower your wands, I swear I'm a friend." Harry tried, edging nearer to her.

"Hermione, we have to take him to Professor Dumbledore, he'll get Harry's whereabouts out of _him!_" Ron said angrily, throwing Harry a dirty look.

Harry knew what spell Hermione was about to throw at him, he could see it in her eyes, guess the incantation before it came to her lips. His wand was still in his pocket and trying to get it at this point would only make the nervous teens attack, so he only had one way of defending himself.

"Stup-"

Harry's hand shot out and knocked her wand out of her hand. At the same time his other hand grabbed her by her neck and pulled her in front of him, her body acting as a shield to stop Ron from firing anything his way.

Hermione's gasp echoed around Harry, but he didn't let it bother him, not for now anyway.

"Let her go!" Ron yelled, his wand shaking in his hand.

"Drop your wand, Ron." Harry told him, keeping Hermione pinned in place by the grip on her neck.

Ron took one look at the terrified girl and lowered his wand, throwing it to the side. Hermione whimpered with fright and closed her eyes.

"You have to be quick, Miss Granger," Harry whispered in her ear, making her tremble. "Too much talking and not enough action will always land you in trouble."

At his last word, he let Hermione go and pushed her towards Ron, making him catch the girl to stop her from falling. Both turned frightened eyes to Harry, apprehensive of what he was going to do.

Harry waved his hand and the fallen wands of the two Gryffindors zoomed into his hand. Ron and Hermione glared at the boy before them as he pocketed their wands.

"Where is Harry? What have you done to him?" Hermione asked.

"I've not done anything to him, I swear." Harry replied.

"Like we'll believe a Death Eater!" Ron spat.

"I'm not a Death Eater. I actually am Harry Potter, just not your Harry Potter." Harry explained.

Hermione and Ron shared a look before turning confused eyes up at Harry.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked warily.

"I'll explain everything, just come with me." Harry said.

"Like we'll go anywhere with you!" Ron spat.

"You don't have a choice." Harry said at last bringing out his wand but he didn't point it at them.

Ron and Hermione shrunk in fear at facing the armed boy. Without their own wands, they had no choice but to follow Harry, into the forbidden forest. They walked in deeper into the dark forest. Once Harry was certain that they couldn't be seen or heard by anyone, he stopped. He waved his wand, making Ron and Hermione yelp in anticipation of being hurt, but all that happened was walls of silencio were erected around them. Another complicated spell and Harry had made sure no one or _thing_ could see them, unless they were staring directly at them for at least ten seconds.

Harry pocketed his wand and stared at the two terrified faces of his friends.

"I don't mean any harm, really. You can stop looking at me like that." He said.

Ron snorted, despite his fear.

"Say's he who has our wands and has brought us into the forbidden forest!"

Harry sighed before taking out the two wands and throwing it back to their owners. They caught them, looking stunned at the turn of events.

"There, you have your wands back, but before you attack me, just hear me out, okay?"

Hermione and Ron just stared at Harry, their wands held in their hands but not pointed at him.

"Where is Harry?" Ron asked again.

Harry knew that they weren't going to listen to him or believe him until they spoke to _their_ Harry.

Slowly he reached into his robes pocket, aware of how tensed the other two became. He pulled out his phone, watching as Ron looked confusedly at it while Hermione let out a gasp.

"Those don't work at Hogwarts…" Hermione began.

"This one does." Harry interjected.

"What…what are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Letting you talk to your Harry." Harry responded.

Usually, by the third ring, Damien would answer the phone, so when the seventh ring sounded and there was no answer, Harry started getting a little worried.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Another really long chapter. I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you thought of it. Cheers!!


	18. Reactions

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Hey everyone! Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best!! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Eighteen**

_**AU World**_

Harry stood next to the door, his breaths coming in short, fast gasps. Dumbledore stared in stunned surprise at the young man standing in his office. But Harry wasn't looking at the Headmaster; his eyes were fixed to the two shocked looking people sitting opposite Dumbledore.

"Harry?" his mum's voice carried over to him and he felt his heart miss several beats.

Harry could only stare at both his parents as they sat in the seats opposite Dumbledore. They were staring back at Harry with shock.

"What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" James asked, his eyes lingering on Harry's forehead, seeking out the hidden scar.

Harry wanted to yell that everything was wrong. Everything he had thought about this world and about his life had been wrong, dreadfully wrong. Images of the other Harry flashed through his mind again and he shuddered despite himself.

"Harry?" concern flooded James' voice as he called out to him.

Harry looked away from James and focused on Dumbledore, noting the Headmaster staring at him with obvious confusion. Harry understood why he was looking at him like that. The other Harry would never come to his office; he would never seek him out for help. His presence was what was confusing everybody.

Harry wanted to tell them why he was here. He was willing to tell them, all of them the truth. He needed to get back to his world, he couldn't stay here any longer, couldn't pretend to be _him_ any longer. He tried, but the words died in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to speak, to say the words to Dumbledore, but the presence of his parents was interfering, silencing him.

"Harry?"

He opened his eyes to see both his parents standing up and walking over to him, concern and worry etched on their faces.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Lily asked, her eyes raking over him, stopping at his scar.

James had placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, making him turn slightly to face him.

"Son? What's the matter?"

Harry looked at him, the words stinging him at the same time as comforting him. He felt the anger that was pulsing through him suddenly die away, leaving him feeling tired and drained. He sagged a little, alarming the two parents. Both grabbed onto him, afraid he was about to collapse.

"Oh God! You're not well. You should have stayed in bed!" Lily said, her gentle fingers wrapped around his arms.

Harry was reminded of the lie he had told her in order to get away from Damien's party, his parents thought he was ill, had a headache and had spent all his time tonight resting in his bed. A part of him wished that he had been ill, that he had been in his bed, then he wouldn't have found out the awful truth about who is really was in this world; Voldemort's adopted son, the Dark Prince, a murderer! His emotions bubbled over and he could feel the sting of tears in his eyes again. He held them back, not wanting to alarm his parents anymore than he already had.

He looked over at Dumbledore again, seeing the concern in his eyes too as he stared at him. Harry knew that had his parents not been here, he would have yelled out his truth to Dumbledore by now. He would have told him everything about the swap and he knew the great powerful wizard would help him to get back home. But Harry couldn't tell him, not when his parents were here as well, he couldn't tell them that he wasn't their Harry. He couldn't bear the thought of them backing away from him, looking at him as if he were a stranger. He knew they loved their son, their Harry. He had seen and felt their love. But he couldn't understand why they would love him, why would they take him in when he had done such atrocious things. He clamped his eyes shut again as images assaulted his mind; _Harry_ leading the Death Eaters to Hogwarts Express, attacking and killing the Aurors, hurting Sirius…

"Harry?!"

Harry opened his eyes and felt the wet drops run down his face. He saw the look on his mum and dad's face as they stared at him in horror. James and Lily tightened their grip on him, asking him again and again, what was wrong? Why was he crying? What had happened?

Harry didn't answer, he was afraid if he opened his mouth, he would end up crying harder. He tried to stop the tears from falling, willed the lump at the back of his throat to go away but he ended up only feeling worse. Everything he had seen and learned in the past few hours came back at him and Harry couldn't take it any longer. Tears streamed down his face as he stood with his fists clenched hard and his jaw clenched harder.

James and Lily, both were alarmed by the sight of Harry in tears. Harry never cried, never. The only time the both of them had seen Harry cry was the day of Harry's trial. When Harry had been pulled into his mum's embrace he had cried, but even then it was only a few tears, tears of relief or maybe surprise at being freed of all charges. He had calmed down almost instantly. But this, this was something neither James nor Lily had ever seen. Harry was distraught, his face was red, his cheeks wet and the tears were streaming down his face, but not a sound left the boy.

Lily couldn't take it any longer, she pulled Harry into her embrace, the sight of her child in tears was making her heart ache. She hugged Harry tightly, hoping he would allow her this one time to comfort him. Harry let himself go and lost himself in the sensation of the embrace. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, face hidden in her robes, his tears seeping into her clothes. His arms slowly lifted and draped around her, circled around her. He stifled the sob that was breaking out of him and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

"Harry, baby, what's wrong? Talk to me, please." Lily whispered, nearly in tears herself.

Harry shook his head a little against her; he didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to say why he had rushed up here, why he had fought with Damien; he didn't want to voice the harsh truth about himself in this new world. He wanted to forget what he had learned, forget the truth and keep on pretending that in this new world he had grown up with his parents, was loved by his parents and was normal.

James was at a loss as to what he should do. He had never had to deal with an emotional Harry before. An angry and violent Harry he could deal with, but a broken Harry, he couldn't even begin to try.

Dumbledore had risen from his chair but hadn't moved any closer to the Potters. He caught James' eye and motioned towards the door, gesturing that maybe they should take Harry and go. James nodded his head and moved to the door. He opened it and led the now quietly sobbing Harry and Lily out of the office. Harry let them lead the way out, his mind overrun with emotions. He was exhausted, both body and mind. At the back of his mind, he knew he should say something, anything to his worried parents, but he couldn't. He didn't have any energy left inside him.

James and Lily led Harry down the spiral steps and out into the corridor. Lily and James shared a look, wordlessly asking where they should take Harry, to their room or to the infirmary.

Lily started towards the infirmary but James stopped her.

"Not tonight, in the morning." He whispered. He could see that Harry wasn't in pain, not physical pain anyway. He needed them, not medical attention.

Both parents led Harry towards James' quarter. They were so involved in guiding Harry to the staff quarter, neither of them noticed the boy hiding in the alcove, watching them with worried eyes. Damien stepped out of his hiding place as soon as his parents disappeared down the stairs. He quietly made his way to the Gryffindor tower, he hoped Ginny was still awake, he needed her now more than ever.

xxx

Harry was settled on the sofa, his cheeks marked with tear tracks. He let his head drop into his hands, hiding his face and shielding himself from his parents' worried stares. A moment or two later he felt a weight settle next to him and he looked over to see his dad.

"Are you in pain?" he asked gently, his gaze shifting to his forehead.

Harry shook his head, not trusting his voice. He had just about managed to stop crying.

"Okay" James was unsure of how to deal with this. "Do you want to…I mean, what, what happened? Why are you so upset?" James decided not to ask him if he wanted to talk about it, he knew the answer he would get. He opted to ask a direct question; maybe he might get a direct answer.

But Harry just shook his head again, his head thumping because of all the crying. James felt his heart ache, Harry looked so broken. What the hell had happened to him?

Lily came over and sat next to him, a washcloth in her hand. She handed it to Harry who took it but made no move to wipe his face.

"Do you want some pain relief potion?" Lily asked, holding up the vial.

Harry looked at it, wishing the potion would take away the pain. Unfortunately, there wasn't any potion created to take away the kind of pain he was in. He sadly shook his head again.

Lily looked at James with a desperate look. She didn't like the way Harry was acting.

"What happened? Please tell us, Harry, you're really worrying us." Lily said looking back at him.

Harry swallowed and let out a deep breath. But just the thought of what he had to say made his eyes sting. He turned his face away and hid it again.

James put a comforting hand on his shoulder, patting it gently.

"Why don't you rest? We'll talk in the morning." He said quietly.

Harry nodded his head and lay down on the sofa, curling up, his tired, red rimmed eyes shutting instantly. He was asleep in moments; his exhausted mind succumbed to sleep given the first chance.

James covered Harry with a blanket before he and Lily moved to the bedroom. James closed the door quietly and turned to face his upset wife.

"What just happened?" James asked as he moved towards her.

"I don't know," Lily shook her head. "I've never seen him like that. I don't understand, I just checked on him before going to up to see Dumbledore, he was fast asleep. I don't know what could have happened."

"His scar must have hurt again. I think it really freaked him out and he came to Dumbledore's office looking for us. I mean, why else would he go to Dumbledore's office?" James said, sitting down next to Lily, a hand running through his hair reflexively.

"You…you think it was his scar?" Lily whispered, looking rather pale.

"I think so. I …I think Harry may still have trouble sleeping. He's not telling us, but I think he's still suffering. His scar, for whatever reason, is playing up again and I think it's been bothering him but he's kept it to himself. You know what he's like," James exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair again, trying to calm down "I think things may have just got too much for him and he broke down. His scar hurting probably worried him and…he probably thinks that…that _he'll_ come back," seeing the look on Lily's face he quickly added, "he's not though, you heard what Dumbledore said; he's gone, for good. Voldemort will never come back."

Lily bit her lip, her emerald eyes growing deeper with worry.

"I know what Dumbledore said, but something must be happening to bother Harry like this. I can't stand to see him like this, James, I never want to see him like this again."

James hugged Lily as tears appeared in her eyes.

"I know, honey. I know." he murmured. He too never wanted to see his son in the condition he was in tonight. "We'll talk to him in the morning. We weren't going to get anything from him tonight, he was exhausted. We'll talk in the morning." He promised her as well as himself.

xxx

The morning rays fell on Harry's face, gently waking him up. He groggily sat up, rubbing his face sleepily. He blinked at his surroundings, at first confused as to why he was in his dad's living room. Then slowly everything that had happened yesterday came back to him. Harry felt his heart flip in his chest as he remembered what he had learned and what he had seen. The newspapers, the reward notice for the capture of the Dark Prince, the murder of Frank and Alice Longbottom, the memory of the attack on Hogwarts Express, _Harry_ leading the Death Eaters to the train, fighting with the Aurors, attacking Sirius…

Harry forced himself to stop, he couldn't think about it again. He pushed the blanket aside and swung his legs down. Just as he made to get up, the door behind him opened and James walked out, wide awake and fully dressed. At the sight of Harry he hurried over to him.

"Morning, Harry." He said.

"Morning." Harry returned quietly. He was careful not to look at James and kept his head bowed down.

James sat down next to him, keeping his eyes fixed to his son.

"How are you?" James asked.

Harry shrugged, not knowing how to answer.

"Does your scar still hurt?" James asked.

Harry shook his head.

"Harry, I know what you must be thinking but you have no reason to worry. Your mum and I spoke to Dumbledore last night and he confirmed that your scar hurting had nothing to do with, with Voldemort."

Harry looked up at James at the mention of the Dark Lord. He could see the careful look on his face as he said the name. It seemed he was making an effort to keep his expression as blank as possible.

"Dumbledore seems to think that the pain you feel might be related to another problem. Because you…you grew up…experiencing pain all the time in your scar…and, and you never got a break from it, he, ah, Dumbledore that is, thinks that maybe the pain is, is a phantom pain more than anything else." James finished the words with difficulty and hadn't looked at Harry's face the entire time. Instead he was looking at Harry's hands.

Harry swallowed heavily; he wasn't in the mood to hear anything else about his other self and his life right now. All he wanted was to get up and go and see Professor Dumbledore and tell him the truth so he could help him get back to his own world.

James misunderstood Harry's reaction and snapped up his eyes to look at him.

"It will die down, I'm sure of it. We can go to see Poppy if you want. It'll reassure you." James stopped when Harry shook his head again. Clearing his throat, Harry spoke.

"I'm fine, dad. I just want to be alone right now." he made to get up again so he could leave but James stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, what happened? You were fine yesterday, all of a sudden you're…what happened, son?" Harry looked into his dad's face, seeing the worry and concern on his face. "Whatever is wrong, you can tell me. I'll fix it, whatever it is that's upset you, I promise. Please Harry; tell me what's upsetting you."

Harry could feel the sincerity as it poured out of James. His dad really wanted to help him. He licked his lips, wondering what he could say. He couldn't tell him the truth and he didn't have it in him to make up an elaborate lie. He wasn't willing to lie to him.

"Dad, I can't…" Harry started but was interrupted as the door opened and a dark haired boy came into the room.

Harry clicked his mouth shut and glared at the boy who stood at the door.

"Morning, Damien." James greeted his youngest son with a smile.

"morning." Damien returned, keeping his eyes fixed on Harry.

James didn't recognise the hostile looks the boys were sharing, mostly because he was busy getting up from his seat; Damien always sat next to Harry.

"Damien was here last night, wanted to check up on you." James told Harry fondly as he moved to the sofa chair.

"Did he?" Harry asked quietly, gaze still fixed on the other boy.

"Is mum here?" Damien asked, breaking away from Harry and fixing his dad with a questioning look.

"No, she was but she's in her room now. I think she's taking a shower." James answered.

"Professor McGonagall was looking for you both, something about a staff meeting." Damien said walking into the room.

"Staff meeting? Today? I was sure it was next week." James said, his eyebrows furrowed with thought.

Harry saw Damien shift slightly and knew the boy was lying, again.

"I don't know, she just told me to pass on the message."

James let out a tired sigh.

"Well, better get it over with then," he turned to Harry and spoke in a quiet but determined voice. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Harry nodded his head, knowing full well he wasn't going to see him again. He was going to go and see Dumbledore as soon as James left the room. By the time James came back from his bogus meeting, Harry would be back in his world.

James was about to leave when he noticed Damien who had yet to sit down. He saw the way both boys were looking at each other and realised they had yet to say a word to each other.

"Are you two okay?" James asked, reminded of the time last year when the boys weren't on speaking terms. They used to look at each other like they were right now.

"Fine, dad. You better hurry or you'll be late." Damien said.

"Yeah, okay." James murmured, still looking between the two boys. They had definitely had a fight. It was clear now. "Well, behave, the pair of you." with that he left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Harry leapt to his feet. Damien advanced towards Harry as well, a scowl on his face.

"What the hell, Harry?! Have you completely lost it!? Why did you go to Dumbledore?" Damien asked heatedly.

"Because he's the only one I can trust around here!" Harry spat back.

"Did you tell him? Does he know?" Damien asked, visibly worried.

"No, mum and dad were with him so I…" Harry trailed off. He should have told the Headmaster everything last night. He shouldn't have been so weak.

Damien looked a lot calmer now. He let out a breath of relief and looked at Harry.

"I know that you're upset, okay, I get that you must be feeling really betrayed right now. But you can't go to Dumbledore. He can't help you and he'll only make things worse." Damien explained.

"Worse? Professor Dumbledore is the only one who can help me get back home!" Harry erupted.

"Really? If you think that's true then don't you think I would have taken you to him already? If there's one person that wants you gone the most, it's me, Harry! I would have gone to Professor Dumbledore long before now if it meant I got my brother back." Damien didn't care if his words were hurtful, he was too angry to care right now.

"Don't worry about me going, consider me already gone!" Harry spat angrily and walked around him, heading for the door.

"Harry, wait! You have to listen to me!" Damien said, turning around.

"I've heard enough from you. I'm going to Professor Dumbledore and I know he'll get me back home." Harry said.

A loud click told Harry the door was now locked. He turned around to face Damien, noting the wand in his hand. Harry frowned, he was holding his own wand but during their fist fight last night, both had dropped their wands and now he had Damien's wand and he had his. So how did he get his wand back?

Harry reflexively reached into his pocket but felt nothing there. He looked up at Damien as he held up the other wand, _his_ wand.

"I took it out of your pocket last night, when you were sleeping." Damien told him apologetically.

Harry didn't say anything but his jaw clenched tightly in anger. Damien cast a privacy spell on the room, so no one could eavesdrop on them, no matter how loud they yelled.

"Sorry, Harry, but you've got to listen to me. You can't go to Dumbledore. He won't be able to get you home. The only way to go back is with the compass." Damien told Harry as he pocketed both wands and took a step nearer. "If you go to him, all that will happen is he will tell mum and dad and it'll ruin everything."

"Everything already is ruined." Harry whispered. His voice dropped low and sad, "I thought everything here was perfect, I thought for once my life, even if it was in another dimension, was normal and I had family, parents that loved me. But…" Harry's voice dropped off and he shut his eyes, head shaking from side to side. "I can't stay here, I can't pretend to be him, look like him, I won't do it any longer. It makes me sick just to think about all he did, all those innocent people he killed! I can't stay here and have people look at me and think I'm him!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Damien said angrily.

"I know what he did! I saw how he hurt the Aurors, how he attacked Professor Moody and, and Sirius." He forced himself not to bring up the image of an injured Sirius, lying on the ground, helpless before Harry.

"Harry, that's not what…" Suddenly, Damien gave a startled jump. He reached into his pocket and took out the phone. It was vibrating and glowing, the light switching on and off.

Harry glared at the phone and then looked away. Damien looked at the phone and then back at Harry.

"I, I'll call him later. This is more important." Damien muttered, stuffing the still vibrating phone back into his pocket.

He ignored the sensation and focused on Harry. If he took his brother's call just now, it would only make things worse. He could only imagine how pissed Harry would be once he found out what his counterpart had found out and what he had nearly done. Damien wanted to avoid that conversation for as long as possible. Also, he had to get _this_ Harry to calm down and forget about going to Dumbledore first. That was the most important thing right now.

Clearing his throat he addressed Harry, who was still looking away from him.

"I know how it looks, but it's more complicated than that. Just give me a chance and I'll explain everything to you." Damien said gently.

"You really expect me to trust anything you say?" Harry asked.

Before Damien could answer, several loud knocks were heard. Damien and Harry looked around at the door.

"Just, don't say anything to them please." Damien whispered, as he walked over to answer the door. Harry stayed where he was, looking around at the door.

Damien took out his wand and unlocked the door, fully expecting to see his parents. Instead he saw three people standing before him. Damien found himself sighing with relief.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked inside, closing the door behind them.

"Thought you could use a hand." Ron explained as he gave his friend a comforting look. Damien smiled back, showing his appreciation and thanks.

They stood and stared at Harry, who was just staring back at them, confused as to why they were here. Damien walked over to him.

"I told Ron and Hermione the truth, last night." Damien said in a quiet voice.

Harry didn't say a word and watched as Ron and Hermione gazed at him, looks that were filled with confusion, interest and caution. He felt their looks cut into him, to have the two people that meant so much to him look at him like he was a stranger, it was hurtful to say the least.

Hermione seemed to pick up on the emotion because she hastily looked away.

"Sorry, it's just. I never knew travelling through dimensions was possible. It seems Harry likes proving all sorts of theories." She said with a nervous chuckle.

Harry still didn't say anything.

"Look, mate. Damien told us what happened last night," Ron said taking a step near him. "They should never have lied to you." Ron told him bluntly. "But I think you can understand why they did."

His words made Harry think what he would have done if Damien and Harry had told him the truth while he was still in his room in Privet Drive. What would he have done? He swallowed heavily again and looked up to see Ginny standing quietly, staring at him.

"You have at least hear us out, Harry. If nothing else, you should consider learning the whole truth, before going back to your own world." Hermione said.

"Why?" Harry spoke the one word bitterly. "What difference will it make? It won't change anything."

"Yes it will." It was Ginny who spoke. "You can't judge him with only biased reports and half truths. It's not fair on him. Believe me, Harry. I did the same thing, judged him before knowing everything about him. It's the one thing I still regret."

Harry didn't respond but looked away from her, from all of them, opting to stare at the ground. He couldn't trust them; they were Harry's friends, girlfriend and brother. They were obviously going to stick up for him. In his mind there was no reason, none whatsoever for committing a crime such as killing an innocent. Neville's parents were dead because of Harry. It didn't matter how sorry Harry was now about it, or what drove him to kill them in the first place, the fact was that they were dead and it was Harry's fault.

"I don't want to know the whole truth." Harry said his voice near breaking point again.

"Why not? You were so eager to find out everything about Harry yesterday, what happened now?" Ron asked, annoyance in his voice.

Harry looked at him before turning guilt filled eyes to Hermione.

"I know you took the key from my bag." Hermione said quietly. "When Damien told us what happened last night, he brought us to your room to explain. I saw the newspaper copies scattered in your room and I knew what you had done. I checked my bag and sure enough, the key was missing."

Harry didn't say anything to her and looked away so he didn't have to see her hurt and disappointed expression.

"Did you see all the reports?" Damien asked, knowing that it wasn't possible for Harry to have managed that. He had been gone three hours, last night; it wasn't enough time to read all that was printed on Harry.

"I saw enough!" Harry replied icily.

"What you saw was misleading, Harry had a lot of things written about him but not everything is true." Ginny said quickly, forcing Harry to listen.

"Did he work for Voldemort?" Harry asked, the words coming out with a hiss through clenched teeth, hands balled into fists.

"Yes, but…" Ginny replied.

"Did he kill on his orders?" Harry asked, eyes swimming with anger.

"He did, but…" Hermione answered for Ginny, but wasn't allowed to finish either.

"Did he call that monster, father?!" Harry yelled.

"You don't understand, Harry was lied too." Ginny quickly answered.

"Just like I was?" Harry spat the question.

"I only lied to you so you wouldn't freak out and react like this!" Damien answered heatedly.

"How can you expect me to not react?! He's a killer! He was with Voldemort! He worked for him, killed on his orders, tortured innocent people-"

"No, he didn't! Harry never hurt an innocent! He only killed Death Eaters!" Damien yelled out.

Harry swore as he turned around and kicked the table, making it skid a long the floor and bang into the wall.

"Stop it! Stop lying! Harry was a Death Eater! He was one of them! Why would he kill his own people!?" Harry shouted.

"Harry wasn't a Death Eater! He hates Death Eaters, just as much as we do!" Hermione shouted back, an effort to make Harry stop and listen.

"Listen to us, Harry," Ron started. "Voldemort took Harry away when he was a baby, but instead of killing him, he brought him up. He filled Harry's head with lies, about his real parents and made Harry think they hated him…" that was as far as Ron got when Harry interrupted.

"My muggle family hates me, it didn't turn me into a…"he stopped himself from finishing. He suddenly looked like he was going to be sick. His shut his eyes and brought up a hand to cover them. He groaned, the sound was like a sob mixed with a scream.

"Harry, please…" Hermione started, taking a step near the distressed boy.

"Stop, just stop." Harry said looking up and dropping his hand away. He turned towards the door, ready to leave.

He came face to face with Damien.

"You can't go." Damien said. The anger returned to Harry, almost ten fold.

"Watch me." Harry challenged back and moved around him. But the door was locked and Harry turned back around to face the boy.

"You can't go to Dumbledore." Damien repeated again.

"Open the door." Harry said through clenched teeth.

"Not until you listen to us." Damien answered calmly.

"I don't want to hear anymore lies!" Harry responded.

"Harry, please just listen to what we have to say." Hermione tried again.

"Open the door!" Harry ignored Hermione and spoke to Damien.

"Harry, mate, come on." Ron jumped in.

"At least hear us out!" Ginny added.

"Open this door, right now!" Harry yelled.

Damien stared at him; the calmness he was trying to hold onto was evaporating quickly.

"Sorry, Harry, but I can't." Damien said.

"Open it!"

Harry lunged at him, his anger truly out of control. He went for Damien's wand, trying to grab it out of his pocket but Damien was ready this time. He moved out of the boy's path and instead struck him, hard, in the face. Harry hit the ground, out cold.

"Damien!" Hermione shrieked and ran towards the unconscious boy heaped on the ground.

Damien just stood there, staring at the unconscious Harry.

"I had to. He was going to go to Dumbledore." He said as Ron and Ginny came running to join Hermione.

"So you knocked him out!" Ginny yelled.

"He was getting hysterical." Damien explained.

Hermione had turned Harry onto his back, examining the small but noticeable bruise on his cheek. She turned to glare at Damien.

"So you reckoned knocking him out cold would be a way to calm his hysteria?" she asked.

"No but it gives us time to think what we should do. He's not listening to any of us." Damien said.

"It's understandable, I mean he just learnt that he in another dimension was loyal to the very man that killed his parents and destroyed his life. It's obvious that's why he's freaking out. His connection to Voldemort and also, he can't deal with the fact that he is someone who could, you know…kill others." Ron finished uncomfortably.

"Well if he just listened to us, he would know that Harry's not a killer!" Damien replied. At the looks he received he added. "I mean, he is, but…but not like the way _he's_ thinking! Harry never killed an innocent, he helped them!"

"What can we do?" Ginny asked miserably, kneeling next to Harry as well. "He's too stubborn to listen to us."

Damien suddenly looked at Ginny, an idea forming in his head.

Then we'll have to show Harry the truth." He said. "Lets take him to his room; mum and dad might be back anytime.

As the others lifted an unconscious Harry and headed for the other room, Damien headed to the floo. He threw in a handful of floo powder and stuck his head into the green flames.

xxx

James walked back inside his room, Lily muttering behind him.

"Why are you complaining to me? I didn't know Damien was having me on? Wait till I get him. There's a time and a place for pulling pranks!" James said with annoyance.

"Yes, well, I blame you. You're the one who encouraged him to pull pranks!" Lily said before sitting down.

James gave her a look.

"Yeah, because he would never have learnt that without me." He said sarcastically.

Lily didn't respond. She looked around the room suddenly, looking for something.

"Harry?" she questioned turning back to James.

"He's probably in his room." James answered.

"How was he this morning? Did he seem better?" Lily asked.

"He was, quiet and still upset. Wouldn't tell me why though." James answered glumly.

"I should go and see him." Lily made to get up from the sofa.

"Not yet, Lily. He said he wanted to be alone. Maybe we should give him the morning, let him sort things out in his head. Then, maybe he might talk to us."

Lily sat back down.

"I hope he's alright." She said biting her lip in worry.

"I'm sure he's fine." James returned.

xxx

A sharp pain hit Harry across the face and he flinched hard. He forced his eyes to open, against the foggy sleep that was surrounding him but he couldn't. Another sharp strike on his cheek made him yelp and force his eyes to open. He blinked to clear his vision and saw someone leaning over him.

"Oh, good. You're awake." Came the familiar drawl.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

"Malfoy!" Harry hissed, sitting up in the chair he had been slumped in.

Draco straightened up as well, grey eyes glinting with suppressed amusement. Behind him Ron, Hermione and Ginny were glowering.

"There are other ways to wake him up, Malfoy. You didn't have to slap him!" Ginny said red in the face.

Draco turned to look at her, his usual smirk playing across his lips.

"I know, but this way is much more fun."

Harry got to his feet, his cheek smarting from Malfoy's blows. He could see that he had been moved while he was out cold. They were all in his living quarter. Draco only smirked at Harry's furious expression.

"Calm down, Potter. As much fun as that was, I was only trying to get you to wake up."

Harry saw past him and noticed Damien leaning on the wall. He had his arms crossed over his chest but had the decency to look ashamed.

"Sorry, but you were getting out of hand." He apologised

Harry ignored him and tried to walk around Draco but the blond eighteen year old moved to block him.

"Not so fast. Before you go running to Dumbledore and spill the truth, there are a few things you should know."

Harry had enough and pushed Draco hard in the chest, making him stumble a step back.

"Enough! I've had enough of this!" he panted with anger. "I don't want to hear anymore explanations and lies. I've had enough!"

Draco was glaring at Harry, all amusement gone from his face. His wand was in his hand before Harry could blink.

"Now you, listen here, we're the ones that have had enough of your drama! You're acting like an idiot! So what if you found out the truth? You were the one who went looking for it! If you couldn't handle it, you shouldn't have worked so hard on unveiling it!"

Harry was too angry to respond.

"Don't think that any of us are trying to get through to you because we actually _care_ about how you feel. We don't know you and frankly, I'm glad because the way you're acting is proving what a fool you are!"

"Malfoy…" Hermione started.

"Not now, Granger." It was perhaps the use of her name that startled her and the rest into silence. Draco was still focusing on Harry, "the only reason we want you to listen to us is because you are jumping to the wrong conclusion. Half truths are dangerous, and you running head on to Dumbledore will only make your situation worse. It won't affect any of us," Draco said gesturing to himself and the three behind him. "Except maybe, junior over there," he said gesturing to Damien, "If you go to Dumbledore and tell him the truth, you're the one who will get your sorry arse kicked back to your world."

"Piss off, Malfoy!" Harry hissed angrily at him.

"Oh, the hell with this!" Draco seethed as he moved away from Harry. He faced Damien instead. "Why are you even bothering with him? He's too stupid to listen to us. Just let him go to Dumbledore, he'll figure out he made a mistake when he gets ripped apart for jumping dimensions!"

Damien looked at Harry desperately, wishing the stubborn boy would just give in. Harry didn't look and calmer but Draco's last comment made his flinch. He stood where he was, breathing heavily and eyes glazed with emotions.

Tentatively Hermione walked over to Harry and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, hesitating at first when Harry drew back from her, but forcing herself to complete her actions nonetheless.

"Harry, look at me, please," Harry lifted his eyes and met her warm brown eyes. "I would never want to hurt you, never. I know we're friends in your world, Damy told me. Do you think your Hermione would ever do anything to hurt you or cause you pain?" Harry shook his head a fraction, despite himself. He knew that his Hermione would never dream of doing anything to hurt him, directly or indirectly. "Then trust me, please Harry, believe me that we're not going to lie to you, not even one bit. We want to tell you the truth, the whole truth."

Harry looked up at her, allowing her to see the fear in his eyes, the real emotion he was feeling, the real reason he was fighting.

"I don't want to know." he whispered. "I don't want to know all he's done, all those he's killed. I'm afraid I'll lose my mind if I do." Harry forced the traitorous emotions to stay down and not overpower him like they had yesterday.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione hugged him, tightly, not allowing him to push her away. But Harry didn't push her away; he just stood in her embrace. "It's not like you're thinking! Not at all. Believe me Harry, he never killed an innocent, he protected the innocent. He only killed Death Eaters, I swear!"

Harry brought up his arms and pushed Hermione away.

"You're lying; I know he worked for him, for Voldemort! Why would he kill Death Eaters when he was one himself!?" Harry asked, forcing his anger to stay in control.

Hermione shook her head.

"That's what we're trying to tell you. Harry wasn't a Death Eater. He was with Voldemort, but he only killed Death Eaters, the ones who were trying to leave Voldemort." Hermione realised that her words only made Harry angrier. "Okay, that didn't quite sound right, but…"

"No, don't. Just let me go. I don't want to hear this." Harry backed away from her, shaking his head.

"You have to believe us. Harry never killed anyone who wasn't a Death Eater." Ginny stood next to Hermione, trying to help.

"Then why did he kill Neville's parents? They weren't Death Eaters, were they?" Harry asked angrily.

"He never killed them, he saved their lives…" Hermione started but Harry turned away from her, kicking the chair he had been sitting in moments ago.

"Stop it! Why are you lying?!" Harry yelled.

"Harry," Ron came over to face him. "We met Neville; remember at the Researcher's Corner? If Harry really had killed his parents, do you think Neville would have let you just walk away the way you did? Think about it."

This made Harry stop and think. He was right, he had met Neville and although he was nowhere near friendly to him, he hadn't attacked him or done anything to harm him. If Harry Potter was responsible for killing Frank and Alice Longbottom, then wouldn't their son try to avenge their deaths? Harry knew that he would never let _his_ parent's murderer walk away, not that Lord Voldemort would anyway, he would try to kill him first… Harry shook his head to stop his thoughts trailing off.

"You see, Harry, not everything you've read in the papers is the truth." Ron added.

Harry stilled for the next few moments, deep in thought.

"He…he really didn't kill them?" he asked, wishing he could believe them.

"No, he never killed them. He saved their life." Ron said, keeping his blue eyes fixed to Harry's, hoping he would see the honesty in them.

"They're alive?" Harry asked.

"Yes, very much so. Actually they have a great relationship with Harry. And Nigel loves Harry, possibly more than he loves his brother."

Harry stared at Ron with confusion.

"Nigel?"

"Neville's baby brother. He's really close to Harry, he loves him." Ron said.

Harry's head swam with the information. His eyes darted to Damien. It seemed everyone had younger brothers in this dimension.

"Please, Harry. Just let us show you what really happened." Hermione had walked over to Harry again. "After you've seen everything, after you know the truth, all of it, if you still want to go to Dumbledore, we won't stop you." She said in a sincere voice.

"Uh, I will," Draco said, raising his hand in the air. "But that's just me."

Harry looked at Damien, still feeling the sting of hurt at his betrayal. Damien walked nearer to him.

"I just want you to know the truth, that's all." He said. "I'm sorry for lying to you. I only did it because Harry asked me to. He didn't want you to get upset. But now, I swear on everything I hold dear to me, that I won't lie to you." Damien said injecting as much sincerity as he could into his voice.

Harry stared at him, studying him for a moment. Finally he dropped his gaze and gave the smallest of nods.

"Okay" he finally relented.

Damien let out a breath he wasn't even aware of holding. The others, except Draco, looked pleased as well. Harry looked back up at Damien, fixing him with a hard look.

"But how do I know that you're telling me the truth? I can't trust anything anyone of you say." Harry said.

"Who said anything about telling you the truth?" Draco asked as he neared him.

Harry looked confusedly at him.

"What?"

He watched as Draco pulled off a ring he was wearing and held it up.

"We're going to _show_ the truth to you." Draco explained.

He placed the ring on the coffee table and pointed his wand at it. Before Harry's eyes, the black and silver ring transformed into a black pensieve.

"Ready?" Draco asked.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but found that Draco wasn't talking to him. The four occupants of the room moved towards the black bowl. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Damien and even Draco, placed their wands at their temple and pulled away. Silvery white strands, neither gas nor liquid, came attached to the wands. All of them dropped their memories into the bowl. They repeated this action a few times until everyone had placed at least four or five memories into the pensieve.

Draco turned to look at the puzzled Harry.

"In case you have problems believing Harry's memories, we've put in a few of our own memories in it too. You can see that we've only just put the memories in, they're not tampered with or altered in anyway."

Harry looked at the bowl, clear apprehension on his face.

"What memories of Harry are in there?" he asked, suddenly feeling very sick at the idea of seeing him in similar memories as the attack on Hogwarts Express.

"Everything he didn't want anyone to see." Damien answered unhappily.

Slowly, Harry approached the table, ignoring the reassuring looks Hermione and Ron were giving him.

He stopped next to the table, staring down at the bowl.

"Just ask it to show you want you want to see." Damien whispered as Harry swallowed heavily.

Harry looked over to Damien but didn't say anything.

Taking a deep breath, Harry leaned over the bowl, tilting over it. In a moment he was swallowed by the pensieve and Harry fell head first into a whirlpool of memories.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry disconnected the call and pocketed his phone, Damien wasn't picking up. He felt the stab of worry fill him; what had happened? Why was Damien not answering his phone? He told himself that his brother was fine and had probably forgotten to take the phone with him this morning, he couldn't put it pass his brother to do something as foolish as that.

He turned his attention back to the two Gryffindors standing before him. He took in their defiant expressions even though fear was clearly present in their eyes. Harry cleared his throat after pocketing his phone.

"There seems to be a problem." Harry said.

Hermione stood a little taller.

"I told you those don't work at Hogwarts." She said.

"Well, it normally does work." Harry told her in agitation. "Look, I was hoping that you could talk to Harry, your Harry, and that would help you believe what had happened. But it seems like that can't happen now so you're just going to have to trust me."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other before glaring back at Harry. Both raised their wands and pointed them at Harry.

"Yeah, right!" both said at once.

Harry sighed. This was really getting out of hand.

"Before you attack me, just hear me out. Just think, if I was a Death Eater don't you think I would have hurt or killed you both yet? I mean I was living in the same house as you all summer. I've had plenty of chances to hurt you, both of you, but I haven't." he watched as his words had the desired effect. Hermione and Ron lowered their wands; only slightly they were still ready for an attack but seemed less willing to hurt him now.

"Who are you? Tell us the truth." Hermione said, her voice still shaky but clear.

"I swear, I'm Harry Potter." Harry replied, keeping his eyes fixed to her. "But I don't belong to this world. I'm from another dimension."

It was clear to see that the two Gryffindors didn't believe him. They didn't say anything but the suspicion was back in their eyes, gaze fixed stubbornly on him.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that." Ron said his face quite red.

"When the Order came to Privet Drive, Moody carried out a blood test to confirm who I was. The blood result proved I was Harry Potter. Isn't that proof for you?" Harry asked.

"You could have cheated…somehow." Hermione said. "How can we trust your word? I mean, I admit, there is something about you that seems…familiar but you did just attack me there, which Harry would never have done." She said, her voice getting higher with every word.

"You were about to 'Stupefy' me. I was only defending myself." Harry answered back.

"Alright! Are we just going to do this all night, or are we going to come to some sort of conclusion?" Ron asked.

They stared at each other, awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"I can convince you I'm telling the truth, but not out here. If you both promise to come quietly, without attacking me or raising alarms, we can go inside the castle." Harry said gesturing towards the school. "Wands away first."

Ron and Hermione, eager to get out of the dark, cold and creepy forest agreed quickly with him. They pocketed their wands as Harry led them out of the forest and walked quietly back to the school. They were long passed curfew and so had to creep back into the school. Ron and Hermione stayed true to their word and didn't resist Harry or try and run. They were curious about this 'Harry' and went with him in a bid to find out what exactly had happened to their Harry. They also knew they were inside the castle where Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the staff and students were. They were somewhat safer. They also had their wands and there were two of them against one. Although, that wasn't really a comforting thought as both had been effortlessly overpowered by 'Harry' when they were outside.

Harry led them, discreetly to the seventh floor. They stopped next to the large canvas and Ron and Hermione watched Harry as he paced the length of the corridor, three times.

"Do you doubt his sanity yet? Because I do." Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Wands out?" Hermione asked quietly.

Both reached into their pockets, feeling for their wands. Both Gryffindors let out a surprised gasp as their fingers grasped their empty pockets. They looked up to see Harry, now standing still, a faint smirk on his lips.

"Precaution," he said as he held up their wands. "Hope you don't mind."

Hermione narrowed her eyes angrily at him.

"You…!" her words died in her throat and her eyes widened. Next to her, Ron had a similar reaction.

Behind Harry, a door materialised from the wall. Both Hermione and Ron stared at it in amazement, five years of being at Hogwarts, and they had no idea what secrets the school held. Harry opened the door and gestured to them.

"Come on."

All three walked inside, Ron and Hermione looking around the large room, furnished similarly to their common room.

"Whoa, what is this?" Ron asked as he looked around him in astonishment.

"It's called the Room of Requirement." Harry answered from behind him.

"I think I read a reference to this in 'Hogwarts, a History'. According to them, the room was a myth, never proved." Hermione stated excitedly.

"Proven" Harry remarked with a smirk.

Hermione turned to stare at him, torn as to what to say to him. She was mad at him for stealing their wands but grateful to him for showing her something as mysterious as the 'Room of Requirement'.

"Can you give us our wands back now, please?" She said, her tone hard.

Harry handed them back without hesitance.

"I wasn't sure if you would stick by your word." He offered in explanation.

"Uh, hello? Gryffindors!" Ron said pointing to Hermione and himself. "We don't go back on our word."

Harry smiled at that.

"I'm grateful." He responded.

"Well, now that we're here, can you explain what the heck is going on?" Hermione asked.

"Sit" Harry said as he took his own seat.

Ron and Hermione both saw that he sat down in the chair next to the fireplace, the same chair _their_ Harry would have chosen. They sat down opposite him, wands held firmly in their hands.

"How did you take our wands? I didn't feel it moving out from my pocket." Ron asked as he eyed Harry.

"I have my ways." Harry smiled back.

"You said you could prove that you're really Harry. How?" Hermione asked, getting to the point quickly.

"Well, I don't know, to be honest." Harry answered. Seeing the looks he got from the other two, he added. "I just wanted to get inside. It was really cold."

Ron, fought to hide his amusement as Hermione glowered at him.

"So how are you going to prove your story, that you're from another universe!" she asked angrily.

"You could just believe me." Harry tried.

"Not a chance!" Hermione responded.

"I've got an idea." Ron said. "We could use Vertiserum?"

Harry instantly straightened up, all playfulness evaporating from him. He knew that was a bad idea.

"That's a good idea. You can't lie under the effects so it's a trustworthy method." Hermione said looking impressed with Ron.

Harry knew there were a lot that could go wrong with the truth potion. Harry's life was so complicated, if asked the wrong question he would seem more of a threat than he was now.

"I'm not sure about that." Harry voiced.

"Why? Got something to hide?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Yes" Harry answered honestly. "As do most."

Ron and Hermione shared a look, both realising that they themselves wouldn't want to be questioned under the truth potion, everyone had their secrets.

"Okay, what about a compromise. We'll ask you only a few questions, all to do with who you are and what you want from us. Deal?" Hermione asked.

"There must be another way. I'll do the identity spell again, you can see the results yourself." Harry said.

"I don't know about the identity spell, but everyone knows you can't lie under the effects of Vertiserum. It's a trustworthy method; it's even used in formal Ministry interrogations." Hermione said.

"I know" Harry muttered darkly to himself.

"What?" Hermione asked, catching his faint words.

"Nothing," Harry said, looking up at them. Taking deep breath he continued. "Okay, if I agree to use Vertiserum, do you both swear that you'll keep my secret from everyone and that you won't go to Dumbledore?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, wordlessly deciding on whether to agree.

"Only if we're satisfied with your answers." Ron answered.

"Fair enough." Harry sat up in his seat. "How many questions are you going to ask?"

"Ten" Ron answered immediately.

"What? No way! Three." Harry said.

"Three? That's not enough!" Ron replied.

"How about five?" Hermione asked.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and then slowly nodded their heads.

"Okay" Harry said.

"Yeah, five's fair enough." Ron said.

"Okay," Hermione said, excited despite herself. She stared at the two boys, "um, where do we get Vertiserum from?"

xxx

Half an hour later, the three walked back into the Room of Requirement.

"That went well." Harry muttered as he threw his invisibility cloak on the seat before sitting down.

"Well, obviously I didn't expect the greasy git to still be awake! I mean it's nearly one in the morning!" Ron said as he too sat down.

"It doesn't matter! Professor Snape didn't see us, we got the truth potion and we only ruined half his potions lab." Hermione said biting her lip at the last part.

"Technically, we didn't do anything. It was Snape who blasted his lab apart, looking for the 'filthy rat!' as he put it." Harry smirked back.

"He found it too." Ron said, controlling his need to laugh. "How long before he realises that thing he caught was a transfigured rat?"

"He won't." Harry told him.

"I can't believe I stole this from his private stores." Hermione said, looking at the small vial that held the colourless truth potion. She had suck in and snatched it while Harry and Ron, under the invisibility cloak, kept Snape occupied with a 'fake' rat that was running a muck, dropping his vials from shelves and smashing his things.

"It's not the first time." Ron said with a smirk.

"That was different! It was important; we were looking for the heir to Slytherin!" Hermione snapped at him not liking the reminder of the time in her first year, when she had stolen ingredients for their polyjuice potion.

Harry raised his eyebrows at the mention of 'heir to Slytherin'. He silently thanked the Gods they weren't looking for the heir right now.

"Well, shall we start?" Hermione asked as she stood up.

"Before we do, we should go over what you're going to ask me." Harry said.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"I think it's only fair. I mean I don't have to answer any questions for you. You saw I can apparate into Hogwarts, I can just as easily disapparate too. The only reason I'm doing this is so that you two believe me and don't think of me as an enemy, because I'm not."

"And so that we don't go to Dumbledore." Hermione added.

Harry's expression changed and he stared at Hermione in annoyance.

"That too." He begrudgingly admitted.

"Still, I don't think…"

"Ron, it's okay. We'll decide together what questions we should ask." Hermione interrupted.

Ron didn't look like he liked it but he nodded his head anyway.

Hermione took a deep breath.

"Well, we'll ask you your real name, obviously, then your parents' names, um, if you really are from another universe…if you are a Death Eater…"

"Which you probably are." Ron added.

Harry looked angrily over at him but didn't say anything.

"…and if you mean us any harm." Hermione finished.

Harry looked over at her. That seemed okay. There was nothing in those questions that could land him in trouble.

"Okay, let's do this." Harry said, hoping this would be over soon.

Harry sat still as Hermione approached him. She carefully administrated three drops of Vertiserum on his tongue. Harry waited for the moment before looking up at her.

Hermione and Ron stood before him; both had their wands drawn and ready. Harry just looked at them calmly, not fazed at all. They would know the truth soon.

"What is your real name?" Hermione asked slowly and clearly.

"Harry James Potter." Harry answered. His heart somersaulted in his chest when he saw Ron and Hermione look both surprised and relieved. Ron's face broke out into a grin.

"Bloody hell!" said Ron with a nervous chuckle.

"Are you really from an alternate universe?" Hermione pushed on.

"Yes, I am." Harry answered.

Again his answer brought the two Gryffindors more relief. Harry saw Ron lower his wand completely and even Hermione was aiming at the ground now and not Harry's chest.

"Are you a Death Eater?" Ron asked the question this time.

"No, I'm not." Harry answered. He had never thought of himself as a Death Eater. Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters were his servants, he was his son.

"Do you mean us, the staff and students at Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry any harm?" Hermione asked.

"No, I don't." Harry answered.

Both Hermione and Ron were grinning by this point. Even Harry couldn't help but smile at their friendly expressions.

"Last question," Ron beamed. "What are your mother and father's names?"

Harry's smile slipped of his face. He couldn't believe it. He cursed under his breath. 'Father? Why did Ron have to say father?' he thought desperately to himself.

"Lily Potter and…" Harry fought against the word that was forcing itself out of him. He tried, really tried to say James but the question had asked for the name of his 'father'. Had Ron worded it 'dad', Harry would have already been taking the antidote for the potion and telling them about the alternate world he came from.

Ron and Hermione saw Harry struggling and instinctively gripped their wands.

"Harry, what is your father's name?" Ron asked again.

Harry closed his eyes as the word came out from between clenched teeth.

"Lord Voldemort."

xxx

Harry glanced up at the two, very pale faced, teenagers and saw the look of horror on their faces. The wands were back and pointed at Harry. Hermione looked like she could faint and Ron looked a little green.

"V-V-! You-Know-Who?" Ron said looking at Harry with wide eyes.

Harry shifted in his seat; he wasn't asked a proper question, not one that made sense anyway, so he didn't have to answer.

"I can explain…" Harry started looking at Hermione.

"You've said enough." Hermione cut him off. Her wand shook in her hand but she kept it trained on him. "Now I understand why you seemed so…cold."

Harry stared at her, keeping an eye on the wand.

"But he can't be his, his, its not possible!" Ron interrupted. "He doesn't look like him, I mean I don't think he does…I mean, he looks like Harry, our Harry, and our Harry looks like James Potter, so how can he…are you under a glamour?" Ron asked facing Harry.

"No, I'm not." Harry answered, still forced to answer under the truth potion.

Hermione studied Harry's face closely.

"Harry, who is your biological father?" Hermione asked.

"James Potter." Harry answered.

Ron and Hermione looked even more confused now. They shared a quick, wary glance. Both didn't know what they should do.

"I know that you are Harry Potter, but this, this is way above our heads!" Hermione told Harry. "I'm sorry, really I am but we are going to have to go to Professor Dumbledore." She told him in a sincere apologetic voice.

Harry took a deep sigh, his eyes cast at the ground.

"Then I'm really very sorry too." Harry said, speaking to the ground.

"For what?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up, his eyes already filled with regret.

"For stopping you."

He shot from his seat, his movement both fast and unexpected. He knocked into Hermione, making her fall to the ground, her wand ripped away from her grasp by the fall. Ron fired a curse at him but Harry's full body shield came up and the blue bubble absorbed the 'stupefy' at once. Harry grabbed Ron's wand holding hand and sheer force of will stopped him from breaking his wrist. Instead he twisted it painfully at an angle, before his other fist came down on Ron and smashed into his face. With a cry of pain, Ron dropped his wand before backing away from Harry, a hand on his cheek where he had been struck.

A wave of Harry's hand and the two dropped wands were in his possession again. He looked guiltily at Ron and Hermione as they huddled together, looking fearfully at Harry.

"I really am sorry." Harry said again as he raised his own wand at the two.

"No, Harry don't!" Hermione cried out.

"I tried to avoid this because I really didn't want to go down this way, but I can't let my secret come out, not before Dumbledore. Its better this way, you won't remember anything about tonight."

"You're going to obliviate us?!" Ron asked in shock.

"Yes, I am." Harry answered, the truth potion still forcing answers from him.

Hermione had tears in her eyes and she glared at Harry as he pointed his wand at her head.

"Go ahead! Obliviate us," she yelled at him.

"Hermione!" Ron gasped but she ignored him.

"But you won't get away with this. You'll get caught again, eventually. We knew something about you wasn't right. Catching you apparating into Hogwarts was only by chance. Take away the memory of tonight! But we'll catch you out again; some other slip up of yours will give you away. We'll learn your truth again one day and when we do, we'll never give you a chance to explain yourself, to obliviate us! We'll go straight to Dumbledore and your secret will be out!"

Harry's wand shook in his hand as Hermione's bitter words stung him. Against his will, a memory came flooding to him, words very similar to these, spoken by a ten year old child to the father he worshipped.

'_You can wipe my memories away today, but you'll get caught out. I will learn your truth again one day and when I do you'll never be able to stop me from leaving you.'_

Harry closed his eyes, willing the memory away. He didn't want to see himself, his ten year old self, held by force as his 'father' took away his memories. With a jolt Harry realised what he was doing was no different to what Voldemort did to him all his life. Voldemort took away Harry's memories whenever he saw fit. Harry did that to others too, he usually did it to save himself but then again, Voldemort would argue that he did it to Harry to ensure his own safety.

Harry shook his head and concentrated on the two teens before him. He had to obliviate them, he had no choice. But the words Hermione had spat at him made his hand shake and the incantation wouldn't come out. He didn't want to be like Voldemort, didn't want to inflict the kind of pain he suffered onto others, especially Ron and Hermione.

With a frustrated cry, Harry lowered his wand and turned away, kicking the table hard, making it skid away from him. Harry, with his back turned to Ron and Hermione, spoke to them.

"Fine! Go and tell him. I won't be here for him when he comes for me."

He expected to hear the sound of rushing feet but nothing happened. He turned around to find the two staring at him, expressions of surprise and apprehension on their faces.

"You're not going to obliviate us?" Ron asked, clearly still afraid of him.

"No, I'm not." Harry answered.

Aware that the truth potion was still in effect, Ron and Hermione relaxed at his answer.

"Are you going to do any harm to us?" Ron asked as he stepped closer.

Harry gave a dry laugh.

"Not anymore than I already have."

Ron lifted a hand to his cheek and touched the sore spot. He dropped his hand away and looked at Hermione.

"Why did you change your mind about altering our memories?" Hermione asked.

"Because I realised that I was doing to you what had been done to me, and I don't want to hurt you." Harry answered.

Hermione and Ron were now standing in front of Harry.

"Why are you afraid of Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

Harry glared at her, making her take an involuntary step back.

"Because he knows how to hurt me." Harry answered, not taking his eyes away from Hermione.

"Hurt you? Professor Dumbledore would never…!" Ron started.

"Yes, he would." Harry answered before Ron could finish.

"Where are you going to go?" Hermione asked, "You said you wouldn't be here when Professor Dumbledore comes for you. Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. I don't have anywhere to go in this universe. But I'll still run from _him_."

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, both surprised to hear the anger and hate in Harry's voice when talking about Dumbledore.

Hermione came closer to Harry and stood before him.

"We won't go to Dumbledore." She said breathlessly.

Harry snapped his head up to look at her.

"You won't?"

"No, it's clear what you think of him and even though I know, with every fibre of my being, that Professor Dumbledore won't hurt you, I respect that you don't trust him. So I won't use that against you."

Harry couldn't believe it. He sat back down, relieved that his secret would be safe. Hermione and Ron sat down too, but they were still clearly tense and uncomfortable.

"I, you have to…to tell us, I mean, I…we would like to know why you…you…" Hermione trailed off before meeting Harry's gaze. "Why did you call him father?"

Harry lowered his gaze, the truth potion still in his system, forced the words out before he could do anything.

"Because he was my father. He brought me up."

Ron and Hermione gasped in unison. For a moment no one spoke, the three just sat in awkward and shocked silence.

"Um, you know, this has been more than five questions." Harry pointed out.

Hermione looked confused for a second before she gasped.

"Sorry, I'm sorry." She said as she fumbled with the small antidote vial. Harry took it from her and quickly swallowed the antidote, relieved when the potion cleared from his system.

"I know that you don't have to and that you can lie about it now if you want, but can you explain what the heck is wrong with your world?" Ron asked.

"What? What do you mean what is wrong with my world? Your world is the one that is messed up!" Harry responded.

"Yeah sure. The darkest wizard of our time is Harry Potter's adoptive father! Yeah, that's normal." Ron scoffed.

"Ron!" Hermione admonished.

"what about James and Lily Potter being murdered, Sirius Black sent to Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit and Remus being unable to make a decent living because of a condition he has no control over?! Is that all normal?!" Harry yelled back.

Silence met his words and the two Gryffindors stared at Harry.

"That didn't happen in your world?" Hermione asked. "James and Lily Potter, are they alive in your universe?"

"Yes, they're alive." Harry answered.

"Wow, I never thought that…" Ron suddenly stopped and looked at Harry, his blue eyes wide. "Harry, our Harry, is he in your world?"

Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, grins plastered over their faces.

"Oh God! Harry's with his parents, he can meet them, talk to them, oh this is just…!" Hermione stopped as she caught sight of Harry. "This is awful, I mean for you!"

Harry shrugged.

"All that other stuff you said, about Sirius and Remus, I take it things were very different in your world?" Hermione continued.

"Um, Hermione, Harry just said You-Know-Who brought him up, how much more _different_ can you get!?" Ron asked, near hysterical.

"Harry, will you tell us, about your life? What happened to you? Why did you end up with, with him?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Hermione, I can't…" Harry started but was distracted when the phone inside his pocket suddenly came to life.

He quickly pulled it out ignoring the sharp gasps from Ron and Hermione.

"Hello, Damy? Where the hell were you?!" Harry asked as soon as he answered his phone.

"Harry"

Harry stopped as he heard his brother's voice. He knew just from hearing that one word, his brother's quiet voice, that something terrible had happened.

"What happened?" he asked.

A pause before Damien answered.

"He knows."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review! Thanks so much!! Cheers!!


	19. The Past

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Warning**: Contains material that is disturbing!!

**Chapter Nineteen**

_**AU World**_

Ron sat next to Hermione, his blue eyes scanning over the Room of Requirement, taking in the smallest of detail, all in a bid to distract himself from eavesdropping on Damien who was sitting in the corner of the room, talking to Harry on his phone.

He tried really hard not to take notice but every so often his eyes flickered over to the dark haired boy. He looked upset, that couldn't be a good sign.

"You think he'll be mad?" he heard himself asking the other three.

Hermione and Draco looked up at him. Ginny continued to stare at her hands, deep in thought.

"Pretty much." Draco answered, sounding almost bored.

"It's understandable, you saw how Harry reacted. Harry, our Harry, I mean, didn't want to hurt Harry, the other Harry and was only trying to protect Harry, this Harry so he, um…" she looked over at Ron a let out a weary sigh. "I think I'm getting a headache. This is so mixed up it hurts to think about it."

Draco snorted at her derisively, making Hermione throw him a glare.

"Do you think Harry, the one here, do you think he'll change his mind about going to Dumbledore?" Ron asked, pretty much ignoring Draco, something he had never managed to do before.

"That's what the pensieve is for. Hopefully the idiot will see what Harry's life was really like and he'll calm his melodramatic arse down." Draco said, as he stared past the three, grey eyes fixed on Damien as he spoke quietly with Harry.

"I hope so," Ginny said anxiously. "I don't want to be calling Harry again later on to tell him that Harry went to Dumbledore and told him everything."

The two boys didn't say anything and Hermione audibly gulped.

"I just hope he's alone if and when he takes _that_ phone call." Ron muttered.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"You know, in case he does something," at her continued confused look, Ron elaborated. "You know, when Harry gets angry, eyes go black and things go poof!" he made little explosion gestures with both hands.

"Oh!" Hermione gave an involuntary shudder. "Yes, definitely should be alone." She agreed.

"I wonder how he's taking this news so far?" Ginny enquired, watching as Damien closed his eyes and dropped his head into one hand.

xxx

Harry blinked at his surroundings. He looked around him to see nothing more than white walls. The floor he was standing on was a bright white as well. He looked up to see the brilliant white ceiling, sealing him inside the pensieve.

Harry walked around, gazing at the large room. When he was falling into the pensieve he saw the blurred colours of images, memories, rush around him but as soon as he hit the ground everything cleared up, leaving him standing in a white room.

Harry remembered what Damien had told him, moments before going into the pensieve, '_Just ask it to show you want you want to see_'. What did he want to see? He realised that he wanted to see everything and nothing at the same time. He wanted to know what his life, his life in another, twisted, dark universe was like but he was afraid to see it, in case he saw something that he would never be able to live with. He decided he was going to see the other memories first, the ones he saw put in just moments ago. He was going to see his friends' memories first.

Taking a deep breath, Harry prepared himself to call out the name of his best friend.

"Ro…"

Just as the name came to his lips the room began to dissolve around him, the walls began shifting, changing. Harry stood still as the blank room he was standing in changed to a room that was a part of his 'home'. He was standing in his dormitory in the Gryffindor tower. He saw the five, four poster beds, and his roommates as they pulled on their school robes in slow lethargic moves, still sleepy eyed and yawning widely.

Harry saw the person whose memory he was in and saw his counterpart standing before him, a very cold look in his eyes. Harry noted that they looked younger, maybe the same age he was right now, fifteen or perhaps sixteen?

Ron thrust out his hand and introduced himself.

"Ronald Weasley."

Harry watched as his friend's gesture was completely ignored by the other Harry. He saw the way Harry was smirking at Ron when his face blushed crimson with anger and embarrassment. Harry felt anger explode in the pit of his stomach.

"Look, if you're annoyed about last night, then, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have sneaked up on you. We were just curious to see you, that's all." Ron said quietly.

With a quiet whisper, Harry responded to him.

"You know that curiosity can kill, don't you?"

Ron was visibly stunned. The red blush spread down his neck now. He turned and left without another word, the steps hurried to get him out of the room as fast as possible.

Fifteen year old Harry felt his fists curl into balls as he watched his best friend flee. He glared back at his own self, who stood where he was, smirking, eyes gleaming with delight at having scared off the boy.

The memory faded and was replaced by another. Harry found himself standing just outside the main door of Hogwarts. Ron was shouting at Harry. Damien, Ginny and Hermione were standing next to Ron.

"What do you mean by that? Hermione's worth ten times you and Malfoy put together! You're so bloody ridiculous; you have no right to talk to us like we're inferior to you!"

"But you are inferior, especially to me." Harry responded calmly.

The four teens looked at Harry with incredulous looks on their faces. Harry looked like he was enjoying himself.

The Harry watching the memory saw the conflicted emotions present on Damien's face. He was looking at Harry and Ron, clearly torn as to where he should place his loyalty.

Ron was about to respond heatedly to Harry's words when suddenly Hermione put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Ronald, don't. It's not worth it. He's not worth it!" she added while eyeing Harry angrily.

The air suddenly cooled as Harry's expression changed and he glared coldly at Hermione, all calmness gone from him.

"Not worth it! So now I'm going to have to learn my worth from a dirty little _mudblood _like you!" Harry hissed at her.

Harry watching the memory felt sick. He had called Hermione _that _word! That was disgusting.

Ron grabbed his wand and pointed it at Harry while the two girls gasped loudly at Harry's words. Damien shouted at Ron.

"RON NO! He doesn't have a wand! Ron doesn't…!" but Ron was far too angry to hear him as he threw a hex at Harry.

"INCARTO" Ron shouted as a yellow light came flying out of Ron's wand.

Harry moved out of the way, his movements a blur. He was in front of Ron within a matter of seconds. With one hand Harry grabbed Ron's wand hand and with the other Harry threw a punch at Ron's face.

Gasping at the sight, Harry stumbled back, he had hit Ron, really hit him. He could see the blood as it leaked from his broken nose.

Ron was crying out at the pain of his nose breaking. Suddenly, a loud snapping noise was heard and Harry felt his stomach clench painfully. He watched, horrified when Ron's eyes widened with obvious pain and he let out an anguished cry. Harry had just snapped his wrist. Harry grabbed the front of Ron's robes and pulled him so that Ron's bloodied face was only inches away from Harry.

"Don't ever think about attacking me, Weasley! I can snap your neck just as easily." Harry hissed dangerously at him before letting him go.

Fifteen year old Harry watched with bile rising in his throat. Why was Ron making him see this? What point did these memories have, other than to show how cruel and uncaring Harry was? Harry found he didn't want to learn that, he was better off not knowing.

The memory dissolved into another and Harry saw the familiar settings of the hospital wing in Hogwarts. He saw a disgruntled and messy looking Hermione next to an equally messy looking Ron. He was talking to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

"He just appeared, just as the vampires, or Daywalkers, whatever they're called, attacked Damien. They were going to rip Damien apart but Harry arrived just in time and he saved him. He saved all of us, really. He didn't let any of the four vampires come near us."

The Headmaster turned to look behind him, a soft sigh escaping him. Harry turned as well, to see who he was looking at. He saw Harry lying on a bed, eyes closed, clearly unconscious. Blood was streaked on his face, a nasty cut on his forehead. His robes were ripped at his shoulder, revealing a horrific bite wound. The pillow behind the unconscious boy was stained red, his dark locks thick with dried blood. The sight was horrifying.

The school nurse was frantically rushing around the bed, grabbing potion vials and various tubs and depositing them on the small table next to Harry's bed. Her face was flushed, lips sealed, forming a thin line. She looked ready to either tear off someone's head or burst into tears.

Fifteen year old Harry found himself fixed to the sight, unable to look away. Ron was still speaking but Harry was paying more attention to the injured Harry.

"…he saved us; he took on all the vampires. He kept yelling at us to leave, to run away but we couldn't leave him…" Ron's voice drifted over to him.

Harry walked over to where his counterpart was lying, taking in the horrific wounds. That was when he noticed the other figure, sitting by his side, holding onto one of Harry's bloodied hands.

Harry saw his dad, James looking at Harry with such love and concern. He was holding Harry's hand in a tight grip, his fingers clenching tightly over Harry's. The worry that was in James' eyes was heartbreaking. He leaned over Harry, brushing a kiss on the boy's forehead.

"Please, be okay, Harry. I can't lose you son, not again." He whispered quietly.

Ron stopped speaking and looked over at James awkwardly. Harry could tell from his expression he felt out of place and wanted to give James his privacy.

"Perhaps we should continue this in my office." Dumbledore said, guiding Ron and Hermione out.

Harry knew he would have to follow them out, since it was Ron's memory. He reluctantly left with Ron and Hermione, looking back at James as he was joined by a teary eyes Lily and solemn looking Damien.

The doors shut and Harry found himself in another memory.

xxx

James was getting really annoyed. He couldn't get a hold of Harry or Damien. His youngest prankster had taken the map so James couldn't even look for their location. He had noted that Ginny was missing too. He didn't see Ron or Hermione either at breakfast. He knew that Hermione was due back at her work but he expected Ron to be hanging around, like he usually did on the weekends.

"Where are they? The whole lot have just disappeared." James muttered.

"Did you check in Harry's room?" Lily asked.

"Of course, I went there first. No one was there. I think he's gone out." James replied.

"I'm sure everything is fine. Harry's probably taken Damien and apparated out somewhere. He was so worked up; maybe he just wanted to get outside. Ron and Ginny probably went with them." Lily suggested.

"There is something up between Harry and Damien. They were throwing daggers at each other this morning," said James, then seeing the alarmed look on his wife's face he quickly added. "Figuratively speaking."

Lily relaxed.

"Harry _was_ intending on giving him weapon training..." she muttered worriedly.

"I think they had a falling out." James announced, not hearing what his wife had said.

"Damien's probably just upset his brother missed out on his party, that's two years running." Lily said wistfully.

James shook his head.

"I don't think so. This was more like they had an argument and a big one at that." James said.

Lily got up from her seat and put her arms around her husband.

"They'll work it out. Damien knows how to make up with Harry. You know what he's like. He'll fight with Harry like there's no tomorrow and the next instant he'll be best friends with him again. They probably worked things out. Damien's probably the one who dragged Harry out to cheer him up." Lily said.

"Maybe" James agreed, still unsure.

"I think we should do the same. Let's go out, just for an hour or two. I couldn't rest last night, thinking about Harry. When Harry comes back later on today, we have to talk to him about what happened last night. The fresh air will do us both good."

James nodded his head, agreeing with her, fresh air did sound good right about now. Both turned to leave but the green flames erupting in their fireplace stopped them in their tracks.

"Harry?" James asked out loud, thinking Harry was fire calling him from wherever he had gone.

James hurried over to his fire place but was disappointed to see a stranger's head sitting in the flames, looking back at him.

"Oh, yes? Can I help you?" James asked, somewhat dejectedly.

"Yes, I was looking for Mr Potter?" the blond haired stranger asked.

"Yes, I'm Mr Potter." James replied.

The man peered at him and then smiled.

"Sorry, I was looking for Mr Harry Potter."

James studied the man closely but couldn't recognise him.

"I'm sorry. He's not available. Can I take a message?" James asked politely.

"Yes, if you could. Please let him know that Stephen Docherty, that's myself, from the Researchers Corner called and wished to speak to him regarding his visit to our facility last night."

James didn't speak but continued to stare at the man. Had he misheard? Did the man, Mr Docherty, say Harry's visit to them _last night_?

"Mr Docherty, you must be mistaken. My son was ill last night. He spent all night in his bed. He couldn't have come to your facility." James said.

The man looked at James intently and spoke in his polite yet stern voice.

"I assure you, sir, Mr Harry Potter was at our facility last night. We have surveillance orbs with his entrance and departure. Our night guard also spoke to him for several minutes."

James was left gaping at the man.

"If you please inform him that should Mr Potter require access to the library we would appreciate him putting in a request as is protocol. Using a staff member's key is prohibited. But as it was Mr Potter and this was his first offence, we've made allowances, just this one time. Please let him know it will not be tolerated again."

"Whose key did he use?" James asked, already knowing the answer. He was friends with only one of the Researcher's staff.

"Miss Granger." Came the reply.

James swallowed heavily and nodded his head.

"I'll make sure he gets your message. He'll contact you." James promised.

"Thank you, sir."

"Before you go, if you could tell me," James said quickly before the man could end the fire call. "What was Harry researching?"

The man stared at James for a moment before answering.

"Himself," he answered with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "He had every article ever published on himself piled on the table. As a matter of fact, the material is still lying there."

With that the man disappeared leaving only the dying green flames and James kneeling before them, stunned beyond words.

xxx

Harry didn't watch all of Ron's memories, or Hermione's. Most of them showed Harry as a cold, unfriendly and genuinely hurtful person. A few memories he saw were confusing; Harry was with Ron and Hermione, accompanied by Ginny and of course, Damien and the five seemed to be together but Harry was still very cold to them. He seemed too distant with them but the other four acted like they were Harry's best friends.

It was when he came to Ginny's memories that he was surprised. The very first memory took his breath away. He watched as an attack broke out and students rushed to take cover. A young Ginny, similar in age to the one he had left back in his own world, ran with Hermione and ended up being surrounded by Death Eaters. Harry was pulled along with Ginny, as it was her memory he was watching. He gasped in shock when he saw Ginny being knocked over the edge of the roof. His vision changed suddenly as he found himself watching the memory from Ginny's point of view. She dangled from the roof, her grip weakening. She let out a cry of horror as the wire she was holding onto gave way and she plunged down towards the ground. Harry forgot how to breathe as he watched Ginny plummet towards her death. Out of nowhere, a figure came belting towards her, flying at an incredible speed. The figure was wearing dark robes, his face hidden from view by a silver mask.

Harry realised who it was and the knowledge knocked the breath out of him. The Dark Prince swooped in and grabbed Ginny, embracing her tightly. He pulled out of the dive and headed for the skies again. Harry was still watching from the roof but he could see everything from Ginny's point of view. She glanced up at the masked figure and saw the empathy in emerald green eyes. Harry saw the castle loom before him before Ginny was brought to the ground. The masked boy helped Ginny off the broom and settled her on the ground.

"You okay?"

The words rang around Harry. It was only then that he realised he wasn't standing on the roof anymore but the cool green grass outside the gates of Hogwarts.

The memory changed and for the next half an hour, Harry watched various memories of Harry and Ginny. Again, all Harry could see was how cold Harry was to Ginny. He watched one memory where Ginny was talking to a positively ill looking Harry. Ginny was trying to help Harry when he snapped at her.

"I don't need any help! I can take care of myself!"

Ginny looked taken aback.

"Oh, sorry Harry, I forgot that you never need anyone's help. Your just super human aren't you? You don't get hurt, you don't bleed and you don't get affected like others. Am I right? You were doing fine before me and Damien came last night. You didn't have a raging fever, your hand wasn't bleeding uncontrollably and you weren't literally on deaths door last night. I guess we just wasted our time." Ginny said angrily.

Harry didn't respond to her and looked like he was ready to collapse.

"Why won't you let anyone help you, Harry? I thought it was apparent by now, that all of us care about you. We genuinely do. Instead of pushing everyone away all the time, maybe you should allow others to get close to you. You'll realise that it's not as bad as you think" Ginny said, a lot gentler now as she took a small step towards him.

Harry just gave Ginny a tired look and pushed his covers away. He swung his legs over to the side of the bed and tried to push himself up. At once Ginny held out her hand to help Harry up, but Harry angrily pushed her hand away.

"I'm not an invalid!" he hissed at her.

Ginny took a step back and looked at Harry with hurt.

The memory dissolved after that and fifteen year old Harry was asking himself what these memories were supposed to show him? If anything, he was starting to really hate his other self, more than he did before coming into the pensieve.

Harry stopped Ginny's memories before they finished like he did with Ron and Hermione. He found himself back in the white room. He couldn't understand anything about the memories he had seen. He realised that if he wanted to understand anything, he had to watch Harry's memories. It was the only way he could have a chance to piece together what he had seen in his friend's memories. He decided he wasn't going to watch Draco or Damien's memories. He doubted they would make much sense either.

Taking a deep breath, Harry said his own name out loud. The first thing that popped in his mind when thinking about his other self was his parents, James and Lily. So the memories that came at him were all of James and Lily and a three year old Harry.

xxx

James sat at his desk, a few copies of old newspapers clutched in his hands. There was a pile of them sitting on his desk and he was going through them, reading and remembering the last two years or so of his life, the time Harry came back into his life after fifteen years. Lily sat on the sofa, her pile of papers scattered on the coffee table.

James had gone to the Researcher's Corner and after a few words with Docherty, he managed to get into the library and saw for himself the massive stacks of old newspapers, books, articles and heaven knew what else, piled onto the table. James had gone through the routine and paid the necessary fees and managed to take out some of the papers.

Now he and Lily were going through them, trying to see what it was Harry had been trying to see or find. But James couldn't see any pattern in the news articles, it didn't seem like Harry had asked for anything particular, just himself.

James took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"Anything?" he asked with his eyes still closed.

"Nothing" Lily responded. "I don't understand, what happened yesterday. Harry was in bed, I checked on him. You did too. I don't…"

"Did you see his face?" James asked, replacing his glasses and looking at Lily.

"What?"

"His face, did you see Harry in bed or did you just see someone buried under the duvet?"

Lily's eyes widened with realisation.

"We were tricked!" she exclaimed.

"Harry lied to us," James said, the words gritted out. "He lied about being ill, about his scar hurting and he left Damien's party to go and look up this stuff." He held up the paper he was reading and let it fall back on his desk with a faint flutter.

"But why?" Lily questioned. "It doesn't make any sense."

James looked back down at the papers.

"No, it doesn't." he agreed quietly to himself.

James began to try and piece together what was happening. Harry had left Damien's party to go and look up everything held on him, when he could have waited until the morning. Harry wasn't doing anything at Hogwarts; he could have visited the Researcher's Corner at any time. Then why leave the same night as his brother's party? Harry then lied to them, using an excuse he knew would upset and frighten them. Why would he do that?

James began to feel dread creep into him. That familiar feeling, suspicion, filled him again. Something was very wrong with Harry. He was not acting like himself. James had been suspicious of Harry's behaviour ever since coming to Hogwarts but the shock of Harry's scar hurting had driven out all else from his mind. He was so involved in finding out what Harry's scar hurting could mean that he forgot all about the weird behaviour Harry was displaying. Now, though it all came back to him and he felt the suspicion settle inside him, refusing to budge, no matter how he tried to console himself.

"What's going on with you, Harry?" he murmured to himself as he gazed at the newspaper detailing Harry's trial, two years ago.

xxx

Harry was standing inside a comfortable looking living room. The framed pictures littering the mantelpiece showed a beautiful red haired woman in the arms of a handsome, bespectacled, dark haired man. Harry gazed at the pictures, staring at the happy looking couple, James and Lily, his mum and dad.

Harry realised where he was, he looked around the room again, taking a renewed interest in all the small details.

"Godric's Hollow." He muttered slowly to himself. It had to be.

Harry's attention was caught by a small sound. It was very faint and weak but looking around the room, he couldn't see anyone. His heart suddenly started racing, a feeling of panic took over him. Harry couldn't understand what brought on the sudden overwhelming feeling. He looked around the room carefully trying to see where Harry was since this was Harry's memory so he had to be here, somewhere.

The faint whispering continued and Harry looked around to find the source. He moved towards the large oak dining table, in the corner of the room. The whispering got louder so Harry walked over to it until he was standing before it. He kneeled down and moved closer to the table so his head passed through the trailing tablecloth that had been draped over it.

Sitting under the table, on his knees was a young child with messy dark hair, a thin face and large green eyes hidden behind black framed glasses. Fifteen year old Harry could only stare at the child version of himself. Did he look like that when he was three years old? Harry didn't know. The Dursleys had never taken any pictures of him.

Harry stared open mouthed at the child, his counterpart, as the boy sat whispering into his hands. At first it looked like he was praying, but Harry could hear the fast urgent words as they spilled from the child's mouth and realised that he wasn't praying; he was _pleading_.

"You have to go, if he sees you, he'll kill you!" the three year old Harry whispered.

Another voice echoed around him and the Harry watching the memory jolted as he caught sight of a tiny green head lift from within the child's hands.

"Why would he hurt me when I mean him no harm?" the small green snake asked.

Harry realised the conversation happening before him was in parseltongue.

"I don't know why. Please, go." Harry whispered again.

"I want to stay, with you." The snake hissed.

"You can't." Harry pleaded again.

The tightening in Harry's chest became worse; his heart was thumping painfully in his chest, panic making his breathing erratic. But Harry couldn't understand why he was feeling this way. What did he have to panic over?

All of a sudden the tablecloth hiding Harry and his snake was yanked away and light flooded around them. The child looked up, eyes wide with fear, the snake still clutched in his small hands. Fifteen year old Harry whipped around as well and saw a sight that made him forgot to breathe for a moment.

James was kneeling in front of them. Harry had only met his dad a short while ago and warranted that he didn't know him that well but even then he could tell that something was very, very wrong with him. He was glaring at Harry, the small three year old Harry with such anger and loathing that it caused tremors of terror to ripple down Harry's spine.

Without saying a word, James reached over and grabbed his child, from the front of his shirt and yanked him out from the under the table. The child let out a cry as he was cruelly thrown to the floor. The green garden snake went flying from his hands and landed on the soft carpet just before him.

James caught sight of the snake and with a growl he started towards it, even when the small reptile was slithering its way towards an escape. His foot came down on the snake and crushed its head, killing it instantly.

Fifteen year old Harry was still sitting in front of the table, watching the scene unfold before him with growing denial.

'Maybe he's worried about the snake hurting Harry, he's just protecting him.' he told himself. But he knew, deep down that a loving parent would never grab their child like that and would never hurt them by throwing them across the floor and they would never look at them with so much disgust either.

His heart had jumped in his chest when the small snake was crushed under his dad's foot. A painful feeling of loss, so strong it made his eyes water, engulfed him. Again, he didn't know why he was feeling these strange emotions. They weren't his emotions; he didn't have any reason to feel like that. He could almost feel a different set of emotions settling inside him.

He caught sight of the three year old Harry, still lying on the ground, his small eyes fixed to the dead body of the snake, a deeply hurt look on his young face.

Suddenly it hit him; he was feeling what his three year old counterpart was feeling. He was watching the memories and was feeling what the young Harry was feeling. He remembered what his counterpart had told him when they had met,

'…_beings of different universes are the same as their counterparts. You and me, we're the same being, the one soul, if you like.'_

That was why he was able to feel what the memory Harry was feeling. They shared a soul in a manner of speaking, so that was why when he saw Harry's memories he felt what he must have felt at that time. It didn't happen when he watched Ron's or Hermione's or Ginny's memories, it only happened now when he was watching Harry's memories.

The child Harry was still on the floor, watching in horror as the snake was crushed beneath his dad's foot. He scrambled to sit up suddenly when James darted back to him.

"What were you doing?!" James yelled at Harry, grabbing him from the back of his shirt and hauling the three year old to his feet.

"N-nothing" Harry stuttered as he was forced to stand.

A sharp slap across the face and Harry nearly fell again but the harsh grip on the back of his shirt kept him standing.

"What were you thinking bringing that evil, disgusting creature into our home?!" James asked.

"I…I d-didn't. It was a-already here…" Harry started to say but was quietened with another slap, this one so forceful it whipped his head to the side.

"Get upstairs and don't you dare show me you ugly face! Get out! Now!" James threw the boy away from himself.

Harry picked himself up and ran to the door, tears spilled down his face and he sobbed as he hurried over to exit the room. He didn't look back even once.

Fifteen year old Harry sat on the ground, frozen is disbelief. What was going on? How was this possible? The James he just saw, tormenting and hurting his son couldn't be the same James that played Quidditch with him and laughed and joked with him. It couldn't be the same James that doted on both his sons and looked at them with nothing other than love, concern and care.

The memory faded but Harry was still sitting on the ground, unable to move. He looked around him and saw that they were in a kitchen. Slowly he lifted himself from the ground. He spotted Harry instantly; the child was standing next to the bin, plate in hand and was scraping the uneaten food into the bin. He had to go onto his tiptoes to reach the worktop where he replaced the plate and lifted another one. He wasn't the only one in the kitchen. With dread, fifteen year old turned his eyes to the wooden table to see both his parents and Sirius sitting down comfortably, laughing and talking.

"Don't steal any food, if you know what's good for you!" James suddenly yelled towards Harry.

The four year old didn't respond but lifted his head to look over at his parent. He scraped the remains of the plate into the bin and set that plate on the worktop.

"How many days has it been?" Sirius asked a casual look on his handsome face.

"Four, three more to go." James replied just as casually.

Sirius whistled.

"One week of starvation? What did the shit head do this time?" he asked with his usual bark like laughter.

"He couldn't take the trash out, spilled it all over the kitchen, dim wit!" James answered.

Lily laughed and looked over at the boy with a smirk.

"He'll learn now." she added, emerald eyes cutting into the four year old.

The child Harry still didn't respond. He carried on as if he hadn't heard them. But he had heard them, every word. The Harry watching the memory could feel the building sorrow, hurt and pain with every word.

Harry stared at the trio sitting at the table, laughing cruelly at the starved child. He couldn't fathom why they were acting like this. They couldn't have done this to him, they were his parents, they loved him and Sirius loved him. This had to be a spell of some sort, the imperius or maybe a potion, or maybe they had been polyjuiced…suddenly Harry got it. Polyjuice, that had to be it. These people weren't the real James, Lily and Sirius. They couldn't be this cruel to Harry, or to any one, especially a child. These were impostors.

Harry remembered the reports he had read; Harry had been taken at the age of one, Peter had abducted him when he was only a baby. He remembered the tear soaked faces of his parents and Sirius as they left the Ministry. That proved that these people sitting here were impostors. Harry _thought_ these were his parents but they weren't.

Harry didn't know what to do; he wanted to tell the child Harry, wanted him to know the truth, not to think it was his parents that were hurting him, torturing him. But he couldn't do anything other than stand back and watch in growing horror.

Four year old Harry finally put down the last dish and walked slowly up to the table. He was a good distance away when he spoke, fear and dread radiating from him.

"Um, m-mum." He stuttered badly.

Lily glared at him, her smile vanishing on the spot.

"What?!" she bit out.

"I, I've finished." He said quietly.

Lily looked behind him at the clean kitchen and scoffed at him.

"You haven't put away the leftovers." She scolded him.

"There's no room in the, the fridge." Harry answered, still not making any eye contact.

"Throw it out then." Lily said.

Harry nodded his head and returned to the kitchen. Fifteen year old Harry watched with burning anger and hurt as the child threw out the left over food, an almost full roasted chicken and potatoes. The starved boy's stomach rumbled loudly as he tilted the food into the garbage bin. He looked at the food with barely hidden longing and then back over at the adults to see Sirius smirking at him.

"Don't even think about it." he warned.

Harry quickly looked away and replaced the lid on the bin.

Fifteen year old Harry could feel bile rise in his throat. How could anyone do this to a child? It was beyond disgusting. He knew who was doing this, who was behind the polyjuiced Potters and Sirius. It had to be Voldemort and his Death Eaters. After all they were the ones who took Harry, he grew up with them.

Harry's fists clenched into balls as he watched memory after memory of Harry's horrific, abuse filled childhood. He saw the beatings James delivered, the harsh words Lily threw the child's way and the mental torture Sirius inflicted. Very few times did Sirius raise his hand to Harry and if he did it was a slap to the face or to the back of his head. But James beat the child savagely. The first memory Harry saw of this, made him retch on the floor.

A four year old Harry had been dragged in from the garden and thrown across the tiled kitchen floor. A surprised and scared Harry backed away from James.

"I didn't do anything!" Harry said quickly.

"You little shit!" James kicked the boy, making him double over in pain.

Harry, watching the memory could feel both his own horror at the memory and the terror his counterpart was suffering.

"Dad, please. I, I didn't do anything."

James didn't give any verbal reasoning of why he was hurting him. He kicked him, this time his foot caught Harry's face and the boy's head snapped back, blood spilling from his mouth. Tears appeared in his eyes and he scooted back until he was pressed against the cupboard.

"Dad, please, no…!" Harry cried as he saw James take off his belt.

Fifteen year old Harry found himself running towards James. He stood before him, trying to shield the four year old but he had forgotten that his corporal form didn't exist in memories. He couldn't protect him or change what had happened all those years ago.

The belt fell on Harry and the child screamed. The belt lashed at his face next and James shouted, "Shut up!" with it.

Harry did as he was told and didn't cry out. The belt hit him again and again, cutting his tender flesh, his arms, back, stomach, legs, hands, face, nothing was spared.

Fifteen year old Harry couldn't take it. He fell to the ground and retched, vomiting what was in his stomach all over the kitchen floor. The next instant his mess had cleared up leaving the kitchen floor clean again but Harry hardly noticed. He was too caught up in the horror that his counterpart lived through.

At last James dropped the bloodied belt and spat at Harry.

"Next time you think about falling asleep outside, you'll remember this!"

He stomped away leaving a whimpering child curled up on the floor.

Harry saw many more memories like this. He realised that James beat Harry with his belt quite often. He never showed any mercy or responded to Harry's cries.

"Beg for mercy, Harry!"

That was all that ever left James' mouth when Harry pleaded for him to stop. Harry would do it too, he would beg and plead and cry but it did nothing to stop the beatings. Soon, Harry stopped crying out, he held in his cries and sobbed throughout the beatings, tears rolled down his cheeks but he never cried out.

Fifteen year old Harry cried too, tears were streaming down his face as he watched the memories and felt the pain, anguish and terror his counterpart had felt. He wanted this to stop, he didn't want to see anymore abuse, he had seen enough.

"No more, please, no more." Harry whispered.

The memory changed and Harry found he was in the kitchen again. A terrible, stomach curling stink filled the air. Had Harry not retched before he would have done so now. He looked at the ground and saw the reason for the foul odour. The child Harry was curled up on the floor cradling his badly burned hand. The oven was open and still on. Fifteen year old Harry instantly worked out what had happened. His stomach clenched and rolled at the same time. He backed away a step, unable to tear his eyes away from the child who was sobbing so hard it seemed he couldn't breathe properly.

"Clean up this mess and then go to your bed! No dinner for you tonight!"

Harry swirled around to see James and Sirius standing at the door. James had a disgusting look of satisfaction on his face while Sirius openly laughed. They left and went into the living room, their laughter still ringing in the kitchen.

Slowly and painfully, Harry got up. He held his damaged hand to his chest and unsteadily got to his feet. He didn't touch anything in the kitchen, made no move to clean anything. Instead he walked over to the back door and fumbled with the lock, using his one good hand. He managed to open the door and he walked outside. He stood outside for a few moments, just staring out in front of him, into the darkness, the usual darkness that is every child's fear. But Harry didn't look afraid; he looked tired, defeated and lost. Without looking back the child walked into the darkness, climbing awkwardly through a gap in the fence and out into the street.

The teenager Harry followed him, walking with him, stunned at the bravado the chid was displaying. The memory suddenly faded but when it cleared Harry found he was still walking with the four year old Harry, his burned hand still clutched to his chest protectively. The child was stumbling, his feet catching in the twigs on the ground. It was dark but Harry figured they were in a wood of some sort. He glanced around him but couldn't see anyone in the darkness.

The four years old was out of breath, in immense pain and lost his footing a few times. At last he gave up and fell to the uneven ground, scraping his knee. He pushed himself against a tree and leaned back. He closed his eyes and Harry saw a few tears spill over and down his cheeks.

Harry sat down next to him and watched the young boy. He could feel his emotions, feel the fear at being lost, pain of his injuries but he also felt faint relief. It was hardly there but Harry could tell that a part of the child was relieved to get away. He was still scared, terrified about being lost but he was glad to be away from his parents.

Suddenly a cold whisper was heard, making the boy snap open his eyes. He backed away from the sound, eyes darting around him, trying to see where the sound was coming from. The speaker made itself known and the child let out a scream.

A serpent, large and fearsome was sliding its way towards Harry. Its head alone was larger that the whole of the four year old and its eyes were glowing in the dark. Forked tongue darted out a few times, making Harry cry out louder.

"Kill, Kill, tear apart." The hiss filled the air as the serpent moved towards Harry.

"Please, don't kill me! Please!" Harry cried out, trying to get to his feet but failed.

The snake stopped and raised its head, its lidless eyes fixed on Harry.

"You speak. How do you know the tongue of my ancestors?" it demanded.

Harry was breathing heavily, his eyes hardly dared to stay on the serpent so he lowered them to stare at the ground.

"I don't know! I don't know!" he said in panic.

The teenager Harry could feel how afraid Harry was, his little heart was beating away frantically. He was sure he could actually hear it.

"There are not many who speak the language of serpents." The snake hissed, it looked at Harry closely, slithering closer and making Harry back away as much as he could.

"Please don't kill me." Harry pleaded.

"I'm not going to kill you." The serpent responded.

Harry stilled, staring for the first time at the snake.

"You're not?" he asked in a small voice.

"No, I do not hurt those who speak my language." She told him.

"Oh" Harry responded. He looked a little relieved although he shifted uncomfortably and looked at her again. "So, what are you going to do?" he asked warily.

"Leave" the snake replied and turned its large body so she was moving away from Harry.

"Wait!" Harry called after her, painfully getting to his feet. "Can you tell me the way out of here? I, I'm lost." He admitted.

"Where do you intend on going?" she asked him, raising her large reptile head.

"I, I don't know, anywhere." Harry said.

"You can follow me." She hissed before setting out again.

"Where to?" Harry asked as he limped behind her.

"To the one who shows the way." She replied.

"Oh," Harry said, following her. After a moment he asked in his childish, shy voice. "My name's Harry. What's yours?"

The serpent didn't stop but answered him.

"Nagini"

xxx

Harry found himself back in the white room after the memory of Nagini leading Harry faded away. His heart was thumping madly in his chest. He had recognised the serpent, Voldemort's pet, the moment he laid eyes on it. He knew it was Nagini. He could never forget the monstrous serpent that had circled around him when he was tied to the gravestone. He shuddered; the four year old Harry didn't seem afraid of the serpent after she told him she wouldn't hurt him. He even asked for her name!

Harry felt like he was coming down with a fever, his whole body throbbed with pain and his head felt heavy and sore. But he had to see the rest of Harry's memories, he knew he couldn't see all of them but he had to see enough so that his life could make sense.

He had just thought about Voldemort and what Harry's life was like after meeting him when the white walls dissolved and Harry found himself standing in a large room. The room was dark but the torches that hung from the walls gave enough light for Harry to see around him. The room was lavishly furnished. Expensive looking furniture adorned the room, portraits hung on every wall and large windows were covered with long curtains. In the middle of this room there was a large platform, raised from the ground. On top of the platform was a single high backed chair, with an incredibly handsome, dark haired man sitting on it.

Harry didn't have to guess who he was. The red eyes gave him away instantly. Tom Riddle or Voldemort as he liked to be called, was sitting on the chair, staring at the small boy standing before him. His features were similar to the teenage Tom Riddle, Harry had met in the Chamber of Secrets. This Voldemort was just an older version of him, still good looking and charming. Harry noted the serpent was curled up beside her master's chair, staring at the four year old as well.

As Harry watched, the man got up and walked over to the child. The movement panicked four year old Harry and he moved back a few steps. The teenager Harry could feel the panic and overwhelming fear the child was going through. Voldemort didn't notice and continued to walk over to Harry. He stood, towering over the small four year old. For a moment he didn't do anything other than study the boy before him. The boy was too terrified to do anything other that stare at the man's feet.

"What is your name?" Voldemort's voice surprised Harry. It wasn't as cold or chilling as the Voldemort of his world.

"Harry, sir." The boy replied.

A smile came to Voldemort's face and the fifteen year old Harry felt sick. There was so much malice in that smile.

"Harry, what?" he asked, coldly.

The child looked up, fear radiating from him.

"H-Harry P-Potter" he stuttered.

"Why are you not with your parents?" Voldemort asked.

Harry didn't answer but he brought his burnt hand closer to him, clutching at it instinctively.

Voldemort suddenly reached out and tried to touch his hand. Harry flinched and backed away, looking like he could bolt from the room at any given moment.

"Did they do that to you?" Voldemort asked pointing to his hand, his voice quiet and dangerous.

Harry nodded his head.

"Yes, my, my dad, he…I…burnt his, his dinner so he…he…" Harry couldn't finish and ended up trailing off into silence.

Fifteen year old Harry felt his stomach tighten again; he was going to be sick.

"You were punished?" Voldemort asked.

Harry nodded his head again.

"Yes, sir." He replied in a whisper.

Voldemort turned back to look at his pet and then turned back to Harry.

"Nagini tells me you can speak Parseltongue. Is that correct?"

Harry looked up at him, confused.

"I…I don't know about speaking Parsel…Parseltongues, but I can speak to snakes." He replied carefully.

Voldemort looked amused.

"Really?" he asked and Harry just nodded.

Voldemort studied the boy before taking a step towards him.

"Show me your hand." He ordered.

Harry looked beyond afraid but the tone of voice and the 'order' made him respond immediately. He pulled his hand away from his chest and held it out, palm up, shaking badly.

Voldemort pulled out his wand and tapped the hand, making Harry bite his lip in order to not cry out in pain. A hissed incantation and the blackened burns started to fade. The black was replaced by pink red burn marks. Harry watched in amazement as his hand was healed, not completely, there were still the sore looking red burns on his hand but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.

Harry looked up at him, innocent emerald eyes looking into ruby red ones.

"Thank you, sir." He said sincerely.

Voldemort didn't respond and the Harry watching the memory wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not but he thought he saw a look of unease wash over the Dark Lord's face.

"It's going to need a few days of healing. It will go back to normal after you apply the necessary salves." He told him, pocketing his wand. "I'm sure your parents will get the required slaves for you." He said turning away from him.

A gasp escaped Harry, making Voldemort turn back around.

"I can't go back." Harry said with fear clearly in his eyes.

"Why not?" Voldemort asked.

"They'll kill me." Harry said with conviction.

"Why?" Voldemort asked again.

"Because they hate me." Harry answered sadly. The pain of that statement ripped into the fifteen year old Harry because he could feel that the child really believed that.

"If you do not return, they will come looking for you." Voldemort told him.

"They won't notice I'm gone." Harry replied quietly.

Voldemort observed the child, his red eyes raking over the boy.

"Where do you plan on going?" he asked him finally.

Harry looked up at him, his expression said it all. He didn't know.

"I…I, anywhere." He gave the same answer as he had given Nagini.

Voldemort moved towards Harry, he didn't stop even when the child backed away in fear.

"You can stay here, with me. You'll be safe here." He told him.

Harry was confused again. He started to shake his head but then his eyes caught his injured hand and he stared at it for long minutes. He looked up when Voldemort placed a long finger under his chin and tilted his head up.

"I don't hurt children." Voldemort said.

Fifteen year old Harry swore, ugly words fell from his lips. Voldemort saying he didn't hurt children, nothing could have been further from the truth!

The four year old looked uncertain. He looked afraid and caught in something he didn't know how to handle.

"I…I…"

"Of course, if you wish to go back, I can arrange for that." Voldemort said stepping back.

"No, I…I don't want to go back. They…my dad, he'll kill me." A sob nearly escaped Harry but he held it back.

Voldemort stared at Harry, waited until he had gathered his emotions.

"I can give you protection, but only if you want to stay with me. I can sense what you are, you may not know this and may not even believe this but Harry, you are a very powerful wizard." Voldemort told him.

Harry shook his head, tears falling from his eyes now.

"No, I'm not. You're mistaken, Sir. I'm a…a squib." Harry tearfully told him.

"Who told you that?" Voldemort asked.

"My dad, he says it all the time." Harry answered.

"I can sense your magic, I sensed it before you even walked through my doors. You, Harry, are capable of doing magic beyond anyone's expectations. You just need some help, I can give you that. Would you like that?" he asked.

Harry, tears still clinging to his eyelashes, nodded his head slowly.

"To help you, I have to firstly and foremost bless you. I have to make you capable," he moved towards Harry, his hands placed gently on Harry's shoulders, making the boy jump at the contact. "Harry, you have to agree to become my son, only then can I give you what you deserve."

Fifteen year old Harry was watching in horror, his breath hitching in his chest. What the hell was he talking about? Did he just mean he was going to legally adopt Harry? But he couldn't do that either, no one would give Harry Potter over to Lord Voldemort. His parents would never let that happen.

The four year old Harry was staring at Voldemort. Slowly he nodded his head, still looking unsure with what was being asked of him.

"Good," Voldemort responded. "I'm not going to hurt you, Harry. Just stand still for me." Again the order made Harry stand still, his eyes shut so he could concentrate on keeping still.

Voldemort pulled out his wand and aimed at Harry's head, a look of pure joy and satisfaction on his face.

He hissed something; the spell partly in parseltongue and partly in English and suddenly a bright white light left his wand and hit Harry, square on his forehead. Harry cried out and hit the ground, a hand covering his forehead. At the same time, fifteen year old Harry felt a pang of pain in his scar. He gasped and clutched at his scar too.

The pain was gone as suddenly as it came and fifteen year old Harry watched while breathing heavily, as Voldemort picked Harry off the ground and helped him stand. He moved Harry's hand away from his forehead and brushed back the boy's bangs.

"Perfect" he hissed in delight as he saw the fresh lightening bolt shaped cut on the boy's forehead.

The cut was bleeding but Voldemort made no move to heal it.

"W-what, what did you do?" Harry asked as he pulled his fingers away from the wound and saw the blood staining his fingertips.

"I did what I had to, to make you stronger. I have marked you as the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin, making you my heir. You are now my son." said Voldemort with a twisted smile.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry didn't need any elaboration from Damien. He knew exactly, from his tone, what his brother was talking about.

"How did he find out?" Harry asked quietly.

"He saw old copies of the Daily Prophet." Damien answered.

Harry cursed under his breath.

"How…how did he react?" he asked.

"He was distraught. He tried to go to Dumbledore. We stopped him though so don't worry."

Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"Is he there? I'll talk to him if he's…"

"No, he's not here. He wouldn't believe what we told him about you so, so we gave him your pensieve. He's in there right now, watching your life, all of it."

Harry closed his eyes and let out a frustrated breath.

"Damy…"

"I know those are private. That's why none of us went with him. But Harry, he needs to see it, your life, what it was like. That's the only way he'll understand why you did all those things and hopefully that will stop him from going to Professor Dumbledore and telling him his truth."

"I know" Harry said quietly. "I just, I hoped it wouldn't come to this."

"I know me too." Damien answered.

"Let me know when he comes out, I think he may want to talk to me." Harry said quietly.

Harry hung up after that and only then did he notice the other two staring at him.

"What happened? Who were you talking to?" Ron asked.

"Damien, he's my brother." Harry answered.

"You have a brother?" Ron asked in surprise. "Older or younger?"

"Younger, three years." Harry answered still holding his phone in his hands.

"Oh, any other siblings?" Ron asked excitedly.

Harry shook his head.

"No, just the two of us."

Hermione and Ron turned to look at each other. They couldn't quite imagine Harry having a younger brother. They wondered if he looked like Harry.

"What did he say? You look worried." Hermione asked, somewhat warily.

Harry looked up, finally pocketing his phone.

"Harry, your Harry, he found out the truth about me, about my life with Voldemort. No surprise he's not handling it very well." He said with grimace.

"What is the truth? About your life I mean." Hermione asked again.

Harry looked at her for long minutes. Could he tell her? Could he trust her? They knew about him, about whom he called Father; they would have to know why he called him that. After all, they were probably going to speak their Harry soon and he now knew the whole truth, he would tell them no doubt himself. So was it easier perhaps to tell them the truth now and get it over with? Harry took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'll tell you but don't interrupt until I finish. If you interrupt I'll stop, deal?"

Hermione and Ron nodded their heads.

"Well, I guess the beginning is a good place to start." Harry sighed. He shifted in his seat, pulling himself to sit on the edge, elbows leaning on his legs. Hermione and Ron moved too, bringing themselves closer to Harry. "Shortly before I was born, a prophecy was made about a child being born with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Basically I fit that description and my parents went into hiding as soon as I was born. Their secret keeper betrayed them…"

"Peter?" Ron asked.

Harry gave him a hard look.

"What did I say about interrupting?" he asked hotly.

"Sorry, I just wondered if it was the same secret keeper as this world." Ron said sheepishly.

Harry continued, despite his warning.

"Yes, it was Peter," the name came out with a hiss, making Hermione back away on instinct. "He was with Voldemort. He was given a choice; he could tell Voldemort my parents' location and cause all of our deaths or he could steal me from Godric's Hollow and take me to him, alone."

Hermione gasped loudly, hand flying to her mouth. Harry pushed on; he couldn't count that as an interruption.

"Peter chose the second option, wanting to spare the lives of his friends. He took me to Voldemort and was certain he was going to kill me, as I was the ultimate threat to him because of the prophecy." Harry dropped his gaze here, opting to look at the rug below his feet and not the two faces staring at him in shock. "He didn't kill me, changed his mind at the last minute and decided he was going to bring me up instead. His plan was simple really; turn the only one destined to kill you into your shield. He brought me up, gave me power, trained me and made sure that I would kill everyone including myself, before letting anyone harm him." Harry said all this to the floor.

Hermione and Ron were stunned into silence. Even if Harry had asked them not to keep quiet, they doubted they could speak at all. Harry continued.

"Fifteen years went by and I never knew I was being manipulated. I saw Voldemort as my father, obeyed him, killed on his orders," the last part was whispered and Harry looked up to meet the horrified gazes. "I killed for him, became his assassin. Voldemort would send me out on assignments, jobs he couldn't trust anyone else to complete. I did these assignments, completed them without even asking why the targets were chosen."

Harry went quiet for a few moments letting this knowledge sink in. He half expected the two to bolt out of here, make a run for it but surprisingly they stayed seated and remained quiet.

"Up until I was fourteen, I was kept a secret from his Death Eaters and the world actually. Only a few people knew I existed. I was sixteen when the Order finally learnt about me. They planned a capture and I was caught, disgustingly easily." He added with a cynical smile. "That was when my true identity came out. I used to wear a mask over my face, not even my father's Death Eaters had seen my face. When it was revealed that I was actually Harry Potter, the Order and the Ministry both freaked out. Dumbledore," again the hiss accompanied the name, "he was ecstatic. He found his toy soldier again and started making plans, big plans to 'fix' me."

Harry shot the two a look that clearly showed his disgust in their Headmaster.

"He brought me to Hogwarts, against my will, and started a silly game of who breaks first. He tried to make me feel guilty, wanted me to break down and cry about all the deaths and suffering I caused." He scoffed slightly at that.

"And you didn't?" Hermione asked in a trembling voice.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're interrupting." He warned her again. "Do you want me to stop?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Once more and I'll stop, I swear." Harry threatened. "I didn't feel any repentance because I knew that the only people I had ever killed were Death Eaters. I never hurt an innocent." At the surprised looks he clarified. "The assignments I was given were usually for Death Eaters that tried to throw off their master, so they could become the next Dark Lord."

At this, Ron's eyebrows shot into his hair. Hermione looked like she was trying to figure out the likelihood of that.

"It happened, a few times." Harry told her. "Anyway, I came to Hogwarts and needless to say I wasn't very pleased at being held a prisoner. I kept trying to find ways to get back, back to the life I understood. But I was well guarded. I managed to escape after four months."

Ron and Hermione again looked shocked but they refrained from saying anything.

"It was when I got back that I found out that my life wasn't what I thought it was. I found out that Voldemort had lied to me," Harry swallowed heavily, he didn't want to mention the abuse, it was far too personal. "Voldemort had made me believe that my parents didn't want me, that they hated me. I believed that I had run away from home at the age of four. I believed that it was fate that brought me to Voldemort. He had tricked me into staying with him, into obeying him, following his every word. He had done all that to make sure I never went back to my true family. I left Voldemort after that. I couldn't stay with him after learning all that."

Harry paused here, forcing the memories to stay buried, memories of finding out the truth, the photos of his family, his unopened presents, confronting Bella…

"After that it was a simple plan, revenge. I wanted to get him back. I was on the run, from the Ministry, the Order, my family, Voldemort, everyone. But I got some help from my brother and a few friends," He threw them both a pointed look before smirking.

The two Gryffindors looked like they could faint. Hermione pointed to herself and Ron with a bewildered look on her face. Harry nodded his head.

"Couldn't get rid of you two, no matter how hard I tried." He said but he smiled again. "I started out destroying Voldemort and exacting my revenge. I was done by the time I was caught and I was put on trial." Harry brushed over the details again, not wanting to mention Neville or what he had done to his parents. It was too awkward.

"Dumbledore saved the day," Harry said sarcastically. "He convinced the Wizengamont that I was really their saviour, working against Voldemort. He used all evidence he had and twisted it to make it look like I was working against Voldemort from the start, which I can tell you now, I wasn't. It was my own rule not to hurt any innocents that Dumbledore used to free me. I was declared clear of all charges and I was released."

A genuine smile crossed Harry face, the first one since he started talking about his life.

"I owe him, as much as I hate to admit it, I owe Dumbledore a life debt. He saved me from the sentence of the Dementors Kiss and I was allowed to go home, after fifteen years."

Hermione had tears in her eyes, but Harry ignored her. Ron was just sitting open mouthed and hanging on every word.

"Life settled down after that, mostly catching up with my parents and my brother. Not long after that, Voldemort finally made his move and I still can't explain why I'm sitting here and not buried in the tomb he lovingly created for me."

Hermione and Ron both looked a little pale and sickly.

"The final battle broke out and, and I…I killed him. I was trying to save Damien and I killed Voldemort." Harry didn't have it in him to explain how Damien was actually struck with the killing curse and that he killed Voldemort for revenge, not while trying to save his brother. It was too much to get into and he didn't want to discuss this anyway.

He looked up at them.

"That's it, that's my life."

Hermione and Ron stayed silent, just staring at the ground of their own hands. Finally Hermione spoke in a shaky voice.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"For what?" Harry asked.

"For everything."

Harry shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant way.

"How…how did you change places with…with Harry?" Ron asked.

"That was mostly Damien's fault. He was playing around with a dimension travelling compass. He didn't know what it was and accidentally triggered it. I tried to grab it from him but it activated and both of us were transported to this world." Harry explained.

"Did Harry ask to swap places with you?" Hermione asked.

"No, it was my idea. It was only supposed to be for two days. But the compass stopped working for some reason and now we're trapped in each other's worlds." Harry told her.

Ron and Hermione looked a lot paler at that. They sat with their heads lowered, looks of worry on their faces.

"I've figured out a way to get back." Harry told them.

"You have? What is it?" Ron asked.

"It's complicated. I know of a way, I just need time and a plan to make it work." Harry didn't want to mention the other compass and that fact that it was with Voldemort. The two teens were already freaked out; he didn't want them to panic and go running to Dumbledore.

"Look, I know that this is a lot to take in but you do understand why you can't tell anyone about me? If Dumbledore finds out about me and my past, he'll use it against me." Harry explained.

"How? What are you afraid he'll do?" Hermione asked.

Harry's eyes darkened just a shade and Hermione felt her heart jump in her chest.

"The same thing he tried to do in my world. He'll try and use me to finish off Voldemort."

"What's wrong with that? You-Know-Who is a threat to all of us, especially to Harry! You killed him in your world, if you help us…" Ron was cut off as Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything to anyone! Just because it happened in my world doesn't mean I'll be willing to do it again!" Harry yelled.

"Why not?" Ron asked, also rising to his feet.

"It's not my fight! This world's Voldemort has nothing to do with me! If he's after Harry then it's up to Harry to fight him, not me."

"But you are Harry! You're the same, you can fight him!" Ron reasoned.

"No, I can't." Harry said bluntly.

"You can but you won't." Hermione corrected him, slowly rising to her feet too.

"Take it whichever way you want." Harry told her. "I don't want to get involved. I just want to get back to my world and my life. I don't care what anyone says and even if Dumbledore gets me thrown into Azkaban, I'm not helping him!" Harry hissed back.

"What? Why would he do that?" Ron asked bewildered.

"Come on, another Harry Potter from an alternate universe, one who worked for Voldemort! If Dumbledore finds out he'll tell his precious Order and before long the news will spread. How do you think the Minister will react? It won't matter to Fudge if I'm from another world or if I'm no longer with Voldemort; he'll happily arrest me and send me to Azkaban. In case you haven't noticed he's not too keen on Harry Potter! He suspects the Harry of this world to be responsible for Diggory's death, even you two must have sussed that much out. If he knows I was with Voldemort at one point in my life, he'll be afraid that I'll join him in this world too."

Ron and Hermione stared at Harry.

"I'm not going to, by the way, in case you're wondering." Harry bit out.

Hermione nodded her head wordlessly, signalling that she believed him. Both friends looked meaningfully at each other. Finally they turned back to Harry.

"Your…secret is safe with us." Ron said.

"We won't tell a soul, swear." Hermione said.

Harry finally allowed himself to relax.

"Okay…thanks." He awkwardly replied.

"No problems." Ron added without looking at him.

All three sat back down. For long minutes no one spoke, all three were trying not to look at each other. They were now in the early hours of the morning, but no one made any moves to get up and retire from the room.

"So, what's the deal with that phone? How can you speak to your brother when he's in another dimension?" Ron asked finally.

"My phone and his are connected. They can communicate with one another, regardless of which world or dimension they're in." Harry explained.

"We want to speak to Harry, our Harry." Hermione said in a wary voice.

"You will, just not tonight." Harry responded.

"Where is he? He obviously wasn't with your brother, where did he go?" Hermione asked concern showing for her friend.

"He found out that I grew up with Voldemort, he never knew that. We had just told him that I grew up with my parents. I didn't see the need to tell him but he knows now and on the moment he's finding out about my past, all of it." he added with a heavy heart. He closed his eyes and raked a hand through his hair. He didn't want to imagine what memories his counterpart was watching just now, the very idea made him cringe.

"What about you?"

Harry opened his eyes and looked at Hermione.

"What about me?"

"Don't you want to learn about your counterpart?" Hermione asked.

"Not really," he started. "His life seems pretty boring, to be honest."

Ron and Hermione shared a look, identical grins on their faces.

"Oh, his life is the exact opposite to boring." Ron said.

"I think Harry would love his life to be boring." Hermione added.

Harry looked between the two, genuinely surprised.

"Really?"

Ron and Hermione launched into Harry's life, the last five years of it.

xxx

"Wait a second!" Harry stopped Ron in the middle of his storytelling. "Hold up, you're telling me, that there is a Chamber of Secrets hidden beneath Hogwarts, that only the _heir_ to Slytherin could open and use?"

"Yeah" Ron replied.

Harry just stared at Ron for a few seconds.

"I'm going to kill, Draco." He muttered.

"What? Why?" Hermione asked, overhearing him.

"He didn't tell me about the Chamber! I was stuck at Hogwarts for four, bleeding, months and the idiot didn't tell me there was a Chamber I could use to escape!" Harry exclaimed.

Ron and Hermione didn't respond right away and stood gaping at Harry.

"You…you're the heir to Slytherin?!" Hermione asked.

"This just keeps getting better and better." Ron muttered sarcastically.

"Voldemort was my father, he marked me as his heir." He pulled his hand to lift up his bangs, allowing the two to see the famous lightening bolt shaped scar.

Hermione gasped at the sight.

"Blimey!" Ron said as he too stared at the familiar scar.

"Harry has…"

"Yeah, I know. I saw it." Harry interrupted.

"So you're really the heir to Slytherin, that is so weird." Hermione said. "In our second year when the Chamber was opened, everyone suspected Harry, thinking he was Slytherin's heir since he could speak parseltongue." She looked at him questioningly. "Can you…?" she awkwardly asked.

Harry just smirked at her.

"Right, of course you can." Said Hermione.

"The Chamber also had a Basilisk that obeyed any order given by the heir." Ron added with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Oh, man!" Harry groaned and shook his head, hiding his eyes with his hands. "Do you _know_ what I could have done with that?" he asked looking back up at them.

Hermione looked affronted.

"Harry! You wouldn't have released it! That creature kills!" she said aghast.

"No, but I would send it up to pay its respects to the Headmaster." Harry smirked.

At the twin horrified looks, he sighed.

"I'm joking, I would send it to McGonagall, she really annoys me."

Ron let out a nervous laugh but Hermione continued to stare sternly at him.

"What else?" Harry asked to move on.

Ron told him about their third year, and then last year with all the dangerous tasks Harry had to perform as the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament. By the end of it, Harry was well impressed.

"I never thought he could do all that, save the Philosophers Stone, fight and kill a Basilisk, which is a shame by the way, those things are only born like once a century." Harry paused before looking up at the two. "He's rather small to do all those things though, don't you think?"

"Size doesn't matter!" Hermione quickly responded, jumping to defend her friend.

Ron and Harry just gave her a funny look.

"Harry's really strong. He's done things and faced You-Know-Who so many times now and lived to tell the tale. That's a feat most fully grown adults can't accomplish." Ron said with clear awe in his voice.

"Still, he's too small." Harry muttered quietly.

The three sat around and Harry listened to the tales of his counterpart, realising he wasn't as frail and weak as he had first suspected. He smiled at the stories, relaxing and feeling at ease for the first time since coming to this universe.

The talked until the morning rays showered into the room. The three looked outside with surprise; they had spent the whole night talking.

"Classes today are going to be painful, I can just tell." Ron said standing up and stretching.

"We'll have an early night tonight." Hermione said standing up too.

Harry kept quiet; they were making such a deal about one night's missed sleep.

"We should head back and sneak into our dorms. There's not much time left to sleep but if our dorm mates see that we've been missing all night, they might raise some sort of alarm." Hermione said as they headed towards the door.

"Here" Harry threw his invisibility cloak over to them. "You two take that."

"What about you?" Ron asked.

Harry smiled.

"I have my own ways."

With that Harry disapparated straight to his bed in the Gryffindor tower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please read and review! Thank you!


	20. Memories

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty**

_**AU World**_

Damien sat alone in the Room of Requirement. His friends had left to go and get their dinner, Malfoy along with them. Ginny had taken his phone with her too, as she was still in the process of talking to Harry.

Damien glanced at the magically placed window and saw that the sun had began to set. The _whole_ day, Harry had been in the pensieve for nearly the whole day. His stomach grumbled noisily but he ignored it. His lunch was still lying on the small table but he was too anxious to eat.

Harry wondered how hungry Harry must be; he had been in the pensieve for the entire day and was probably starving. Damien had tried going in after him, about four hours ago he tried to join Harry, maybe convince him to take a break from the memories. But the pensieve refused to take him in. He just stood there, peering over the edge, waiting for the shallow bowl to swallow him whole but it never happened. Damien figured Harry had unknowingly locked it somehow. He had no other option but to wait for him to reappear.

Damien let out a deep sigh. He forced himself to not think about what Harry was probably watching right now. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand as he recalled the horrific childhood his brother had suffered. He knew it was cruel to make this Harry see all the abuse but he had to understand his counterpart and why he is the way he is. His attitude, his behaviour, his way of thinking; everything stems from what he suffered as a child.

Damien had his eyes fixed on the black pensieve, his eyes taking in the silver marked runes and markings. He let out another sigh.

"Hope you're coping, Harry." He said out loud.

xxx

Harry watched memory after memory of Harry growing up with Voldemort. He saw how the Dark Lord fixed Harry's poor eyesight, how he encouraged him to eat well and train to better himself. Harry felt disgusted with the way Voldemort had tricked Harry into becoming his son. He understood what the monster had done. He hurt the child, tormented and tortured him while looking like his real dad, making him run away and seek protection from the very monster that had hurt him in the first place.

The regime Voldemort had for Harry was tough; he was up before the sun was up and didn't get away from his training until after nightfall. He pushed Harry to learn every aspect of magic; Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Defence, Duelling and even basic Healing. His teachers were Voldemort himself, Lucius Malfoy and a dark haired, very attractive witch, Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry recognised her as the witch he had seen in Professor Dumbledore's pensieve. She had been captured and imprisoned in Azkaban; she was one of the Death Eaters responsible for torturing Neville's parents to insanity.

Harry was stunned at the way Harry was taught. He wasn't allowed to make mistakes, if he made one he had to go back to the start of the exercise and do it all over again. He watched a memory of Lucius Malfoy teaching an eight year old Harry how to brew a complicated potion. Lucius stood and watched as Harry carefully cut the roots of Dermwood with full concentration. Harry had just about finished preparing it when Lucius sighed heavily before waving his wand, making all the ingredients disappear. Harry looked up at him with annoyance.

"You cut the last stick too thick. It wouldn't have dissolved properly. The preparation for potions is vital and lazily prepared ingredients result in ineffective potions." He drawled.

Harry didn't say anything but got up and fetched a new set of ingredients. He sat down after piling all the ingredients he had to prepare again, everything had to be redone, the crushing, the cutting, peeling, mixing everything had to be prepared again, even though they were perfect before. He had only made one mistake with the Dermwood, but he had to prepare everything from scratch.

"It should take you another three hours to have everything prepared. I will return in that time." Lucius walked out leaving Harry working into the late hours of the night.

Fifteen year old Harry just gaped at the memory.

"Here I thought Snape was bad." He muttered to himself.

Through the memories Harry watched as his counterpart grew up; he became confident losing the stutter in his speech and his fear of others. He became strong, believed in his capabilities, a bit too much in Harry's opinion, and soon he was the arrogant, confident and strong willed boy Harry recognised in his friends' memories.

By watching Harry's memories not only did Harry get to see how his counterpart grew up and became the person he was, he also saw what his relationships were like with those around him. He cared deeply for the few people that he grew up around. He cared a lot for Lucius, he challenged Lucius, mocked him at times but the senior Malfoy didn't seem to mind. That was what shocked fifteen year old Harry. He could see the relationship between them solidify as Harry got older. Lucius was the one who gave him the nickname; Dark Prince.

It was no surprise that Harry was best friends with Draco Malfoy. Seeing that the boy was the only one his age and offered Harry something other than training, he was bound to become friends with him. Numerous memories were of the two boys getting into mischief or hanging out, just like normal friends.

Harry's relationship with Bella was strange. They argued, fought for attention from Voldemort but at the same time, they both cared deeply for each other. Many memories Harry had stored were of him and Bella. Fifteen year old Harry watched as Harry and Bella sat at a magnificent mahogany table. The table was stretched out the length of the room, at least one hundred, high backed chairs lined along the sides. But only two chairs were accompanied.

Harry and Bella were in the middle of what seemed like dinner. Fifteen year old Harry watched as a young Harry sat moodily at the table, picking at his food. Bella ignored him as she sat finishing her dinner. Harry was making no effort to eat anything from his plate and instead was tapping the plate lightly with his fork, making a high pitched _clink_ noise that was clearly agitating the female Death Eater. Finally, she snapped, not being able to take anymore.

"Will you stop that?! Stop being a brat and finish your dinner!" she hissed at him.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her but stopped the clinking.

"I have a name!" Harry hissed back at her.

"Fine! _Harry_, stop making that annoying sound and finish your food." Bella revised.

Harry pursued his lips and continued looking moodily at his food.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Bella exclaimed, dropping her spoon to glare at Harry. "It's not his fault. Sometimes, promises have to be broken; it's a part of life." She said.

Harry just sulked and sat with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Then he shouldn't have promised." He muttered.

Bella gave him a scolding look.

"Don't talk about your father like that! He is the Dark Lord, the most powerful wizard this world has ever known. If he breaks his promises, you are not permitted to complain about it."

Harry glared at her, a look of deep annoyance on his face. Without saying a word, Harry got up from his seat and left the table. Bella called after him.

"Harry, finish your dinner!"

"Not hungry!" Harry yelled without looking back at her.

Fifteen year old Harry saw a few memories like these. He gathered that Bella was the closest mother figure to Harry. The realisation brought a stab of pain to him; Lily was alive in this world but her son was mothered by another woman.

From what Harry could see and feel, Bella was both comforting and aggravating. But one thing that was clear was that she loved Harry, and he loved her too, but neither would admit to it.

Then there were the memories of Harry with Voldemort. These were the ones that made Harry's stomach turn with revolution. The deceit, the lies, the trickery Voldemort used to manipulate Harry was to a level that made Harry feel physically sick. But along with his growing hate for the Dark Lord, Harry was forced to feel the other feelings, the ones his counterpart had felt. He felt the trust Harry had in his father, the love he felt for him and the overwhelming sense of loyalty to him. It made Harry's head spin, not knowing which set of emotions to focus on.

Harry saw a memory that made his insides burn with anger and at the same time his heart ached for his counterpart. In the memory, Harry was very young, maybe six or seven years old. He was sitting next to his window; his forehead pressed against the cool glass, watching the snow fall and cover the ground in white sheets of soft, crunchy snow. The six year old had a tired look on his face, his eyes seemed duller, dark circles under them. Harry noticed the absence of his glasses.

He let out a sigh and watched his breath mist up the window. The small boy drew patterns on the window, not paying much attention to what he was doing.

The door to his room was opened and both Harrys turned to look at the newcomer.

"Father?" Harry stood up as Voldemort entered the room.

Voldemort came and sat down, prompting Harry to take his seat once again. For the first few moments no one spoke. The six year old sat trying not to fidget. He peered at Voldemort through his bangs but kept quiet.

Finally Voldemort turned to his side to look at Harry.

"Bella told me about last night."

Harry looked up at him but quickly looked away again, his cheeks tinged red.

"I'm sorry, father." fell from his lips in a soft, quiet voice.

"You're not clearing your mind before sleeping. I told you to blank your mind before going to bed. If you had then you wouldn't suffer any more nightmares." Voldemort told him.

"I'm trying, father. I really am. I'm sorry, I'll try harder." The boy whispered.

A pale finger slipped under the child's chin and pulled his face up gently, emerald eyes locked with ruby red ones.

"Do not apologise. I've told you many times, don't apologise, not even to me," Harry nodded and kept his gaze fixed to the man before him. Voldemort pulled his hand away and observed the small boy. "Bella had mentioned that this…problem of yours has been bothering you for a few nights now, is that correct?"

"Yes, father." Harry answered, still looking down.

Voldemort nodded once and reached into his dark green robes, pulling out a small box. He opened it and pulled out a small ring, black and silver.

Fifteen year old Harry recognised it instantly. It was the ring that Draco had showed him, the very ring that transformed into the black pensieve that he was currently inside.

"Father?" Harry innocently questioned as Voldemort held the ring out to him.

Voldemort smiled, not like the time he had, when he met Harry and gave him the scar. This smile was warmer, gentler, more _human_ and made fifteen year old Harry take a step back in disbelief.

"This should help you, until you are older and more able to practise Occulmency." Voldemort explained.

He placed the ring in Harry's small palm and ran his hand over the ring. The ring transformed instantly into the shallow bowl. Six year old Harry gasped in awe, his reaction making Voldemort's red eyes gleam with joy. Harry looked over at him.

"It's called, a Pensieve. It is used to store one's memories." Voldemort answered the unspoken question.

A shadow of understanding crossed Harry's face and he looked to Voldemort with clear relief.

"I can get rid of my memories?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry, you can't get rid of them completely. But what you can do with this pensieve is remove then from the forefront of your mind. That way, those memories you wish not to bring up, will become repressed."

Harry looked carefully at Voldemort.

"So, no more nightmares?" he asked quietly, hopefully.

"No more nightmares." reassured Voldemort.

The memory faded and was replaced with another and another. Harry felt his head spin as he viewed his counterpart's life with his most hated enemy. He was completely thrown by the manner Voldemort behaved with Harry. He didn't yell at him, crucio him as an excuse to discipline or talk hatefully to him at all. If anything, he was actually quite…caring. Harry shuddered as the thought came to him, Voldemort and caring? Harry shook his head, thinking he must have hit it when he fell into the pensieve and that was why he was seeing weird things.

Harry watched a memory of a thirteen year old Harry, arguing with Voldemort. The sight was so peculiar that it left Harry gaping open mouthed.

"You're not listening to me!" thirteen year old Harry huffed as he tried to go around his father's sitting form, trying to get his attention. Voldemort for his part was ignoring Harry completely. "Father? Why won't you trust me on this, I know what I'm talking about."

At this, Voldemort raised his head and looked tiredly at Harry. He was seated at his desk in his main chamber and had numerous parchments littered in front of him.

"Harry, enough. I need peace to figure this out." Voldemort said quite calmly.

"But that's what I'm saying, you've got this all wrong," Harry said with annoyance. "If you send in those Death Eaters like that, you'll get them killed!"

Voldemort looked up at Harry, red eyes narrowed at him.

"Since when do you care about Death Eaters?" he asked.

"I don't," Harry answered. "But I don't want to suffer headaches for days when you lose more than half of your numbers due to a botched up plan!"

Voldemort didn't respond and continued to stare at Harry as he stubbornly held his gaze. Finally Voldemort looked away and sighed heavily.

"There is nothing wrong with this plan. It has been thought through carefully and I don't need anyone tampering with it, especially you."

"But, father…!" Harry started.

"Enough, Harry." The words were spoken quietly and the tone was not harsh, but undeniably stern. It shut Harry up instantly. The raved haired boy stared at his father for a few seconds, lips pressed together tightly.

Harry stalked off not looking back.

His exit left fifteen year old Harry stunned beyond comprehension. He never thought that Voldemort had let Harry talk like that in front of him. It seemed Harry was allowed to express himself and his emotions very openly with Voldemort.

Harry had seen a lot of memories and one thing he had picked up on, was Harry's scar hurting when Voldemort was angry. Harry's comment here too reinforced that finding. He now understood why his mum and dad had freaked out when his scar was playing up a few days ago. From the memories he saw, he noticed that as Harry grew older, the pain in his scar seemed to worsen. Fifteen year old Harry never felt any pain in his scar while watching the memories, not like the pain he felt when Voldemort had 'marked' Harry and made him of Slytherin descent. But Harry could feel the pain in his counterpart, in his emotions. He suddenly felt a pang of empathy for his counterpart. Since Voldemort's resurrection, his scar had been playing up now and again but the pain was bearable, but his counterpart had lived with this pain and suffered it constantly for hours at a time.

As Harry saw the memories of 'father and son', he saw the way Voldemort sheltered him, protected him, playfully teased him into working harder and was loathed to admit that he played the father role quite well.

The realisation made Harry instantly think about his real father, about James Potter. The thought had just crossed his mind when the memories shifted suddenly and Harry found himself in an old abandoned warehouse.

xxx

Damien jumped when he heard the loud knock on the door. He had already said to Ginny and Ron that he wasn't hungry. They had walked out a few minutes ago, promising to come back within an hour. That couldn't be them already?

Damien hurried over and cracked the door open. He had to force back the gasp at the sight of a rather disgruntled James.

"What are you doing in there?" James asked crossly.

"Studying, why?" Damien answered back.

The door was suddenly pushed open, making Damien stumble back a few steps.

"I need to talk with Harry." James said as he hurried inside.

"He's not here." Damien said annoyed at being pushed aside like that.

James looked around the room and saw that Damien was telling the truth.

"So, where is he?" James asked. He was tired; he had spent most of the day trying to figure out what Harry was up to, by now he was frustrated and wanted answers.

Damien avoided looking at the pensieve; he hoped his dad didn't notice the bowl sitting on the small table.

"He's not here," Damien repeated. "He's…he's gone out, of Hogwarts. I don't know where." He quickly added as James opened his mouth.

James looked around the room again. Damien could feel his heart rate speed up as James' eyes rested on the small table, obviously noticing the shallow bowl. He looked at Damien again, accusation clear in his eyes.

"What did you say you were doing in here, again?" James asked, taking a step near him.

"Studying" Damien answered.

"Studying, were you?" James asked. "What were you studying?" he asked, coming to stand directly in front of him. "And more importantly, how are you studying without your textbooks, parchment and quill?"

Damien didn't say anything and lowered his gaze to avoid looking at his dad.

"Damien? I asked you a question." James said.

"Actually, you asked me three." Damien offered with a small smile.

James didn't take to it, much to Damien's dismay.

"I wouldn't even try and make jokes if I were you," James warned. "You were in Harry's pensieve, weren't you?" James asked, moving towards the said item.

"No, I wasn't." Damien quickly moved to it as well. "I swear, dad!"

"You know how private these memories are to Harry. How do you think he'll feel if he found out you were snooping around?" James asked angrily.

"I guess the way he felt when he found out _you_ were snooping around in them!" Damien said before he could stop himself.

Silence followed Damien's words, James' wide eyes fixed on Damien, both sets of hazel eyes were locked to each other.

"That was completely different," James started. "We didn't know Harry then, we were trying to figure out things about him."

"Sorry," Damien said, genuinely meaning it. "I didn't mean to say that."

"What are you doing with his pensieve and where is Harry?" James asked.

Damien didn't know what to say, what excuse to make, which lie to use this time. James suddenly looked around at the pensieve, understanding showing on his face.

"He's in there," he said out loud. "Harry, he's in there, isn't he?"

Damien knew it was a rhetorical question, he already knew that's where Harry was, denying it wasn't going to do any good.

"First the newspapers and now this," James muttered. "What is going on?"

Damien snapped his head up to look at him.

"Newspapers?" Damien asked. 'How did dad find out about the newspapers?' he asked himself. Hermione had taken the papers Harry brought with her, intending on returning them to the library.

James didn't elaborate but turned to look at the pensieve.

"What is he looking for?" he asked out loud.

Damien looked at the pensieve as well his mind working furiously to come up with an excuse that would work this time.

xxx

Harry was rooted to the spot in sudden shock to see his dad kneeling next to a short, blond haired man who was whimpering in fright. There were shouts heard behind Harry, spells and hexes were being yelled but Harry could only stare at his dad. James grabbed the man from his collar, yanking him towards himself.

"We want to arrest you. He wants to kill you. Choose!" James hissed at the man.

The man turned to look to his side and for a fleeting moment he looked directly at Harry. The fifteen year old turned around to follow the man's gaze and gasped.

A dark haired boy, face covered by a silver mask was fighting with two Aurors, a dark skinned man who Harry had never met and the dark haired, incredibly charismatic, Sirius Black. Harry watched in numbed shock as his counterpart duelled and fought with his Godfather.

Harry could feel the influx of emotions coming from his other self and he almost drowned in them; hate, such fierce hate and rage was coursing through him. The desire for revenge on the men that had hurt him, made him bleed, humiliated him was bubbling furiously inside. Fifteen year old Harry could feel it, he could feel the pain his counterpart was in, pain at remembering what these men had done to him and the feelings of hate were so strong and powerful it made Harry wonder what stopped him from casting the killing curse on them right now?

As a stunned Harry watched, the masked figure delivered a final kick to the head and Sirius fell to the ground, out cold. The other Auror was already lying on the ground, eyes closed, clearly unconscious. Harry could see the bodies of two other men; Harry assumed they were Aurors too, lying not too far from Sirius.

Harry had to run after his counterpart as he quickly moved to the exit, following James and the other man. Fifteen year old Harry knew who the man must be, from the way his dad was talking to him and that fact that Harry was after him, it was clear; the man was a Death Eater that had crossed Voldemort in some way.

Harry followed his other self out and saw two figures hurrying before them. Harry saw the curse as it left Harry's wand and struck the Death Eater, he fell to the ground, hurt but still alive. James whipped around and faced Harry.

Again, fifteen year old Harry could feel the fury and hate intensify within him, the emotions of the other Harry. He could almost _feel_ the self control tremble as he faced James. Fifteen year old Harry could tell Harry was inches away from losing his strength of will and killing the man before him, he could almost taste Harry's rage.

A conversation began between father and son, James clearly not aware that he was talking to his long lost son.

Fifteen year old Harry saw the wave of Harry's hand and James was blasted away from the Death Eater. Harry killed the blond haired man, quickly and swiftly. The green light left Harry's wand and the words, 'Avada Kedevra' were uttered without any hint of hesitation. The man fell back, dead. Fifteen year old Harry was hit with another memory, one of his own, the green light flashing, hissed words of the darkest of curses, Cedric falling to the ground, eyes open, dead.

Harry shook his head; eyes closed and scrunched up tight. He pulled himself back to his surroundings and saw the man lying before him wasn't Cedric.

James was suddenly back, breathing heavily and looking at the masked boy with barely controlled anger. They started arguing again, and fifteen year old Harry could feel the self-restrain of his other self reach breaking point.

"Move Potter!"

"Make me you little shit!"

At once, it felt like a tidal wave of rage had hit Harry. He gasped as flashes of images rushed before his eyes; James beating a tiny boy, James yelling at a three year old Harry, James smashing his fist into the small body, James bringing his belt down on the crying child, all these times only one phrase left his mouth, 'little shit!'

Terrified of what was going to happen next, Harry watched as the masked figure pocketed his wand. He could see the tremor in his other self's hand as he put his wand away, he was too angry to use it.

"As you wish."

James was once again thrown in the air and he landed with a painful thud on the ground. Harry watched as a battle broke out between the two. One of James' curses hit its target and a deep gash appeared at Harry's right arm. Deep crimson liquid started seeping down the robes, staining them. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a blade. He threw it at James and the Harry watching the memory let out a yell as he saw the blade slice at James' neck.

Harry rushed over to his dad when he saw him fall to his knees, his hand at the side of his neck, blood staining his fingers and running down his hand. James fell to the ground. Harry looked up to see his counterpart, another blade in hand. He could feel the desire, the need to kill, the urge to finish the man before him, but he stopped himself. He pocketed the blade, green eyes never leaving the fallen form. He left seconds after hearing Sirius' footsteps rushing out of the warehouse and heading for James.

The memory faded after that. The next memory was of Harry sitting alone in his room. He was still dressed in the same robes he had been wearing in the previous memory, a cut in the upper arm showed the deep gash, blood still dripping down. The silver mask was lying on the bed, next to him.

Harry was sitting quietly, his eyes unfocused and he sat with his palms resting on the bed. He was deep in thought. The door opened and Bella rushed inside.

"What happened?" she asked as she hurried to his side.

Harry didn't move, he didn't act like he had seen or heard Bella at all. Only when she was standing directly in front of him, did he look up at her.

"Harry? What happened?" she asked again.

Harry shifted on the bed, sitting up a little straighter. He looked at her again.

"Father?" he asked quietly.

Bella was looking at him with concern.

"He's away; he won't be back until tomorrow night."

Harry nodded his head, eyes lowered again.

"It's done, the assignment is completed." Harry told her, while looking at the ground.

Bella sat next to Harry, her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, what happened? Why are you so…?" her dark eyes narrowed, as she noticed the wound on Harry's upper arm. "What is this?!" she hissed, eyes darting to Harry again.

Harry looked over at his arm, examining the wound carefully.

"Sorupto" Harry said, naming the spell that had been used to cut him.

Bella hissed like a snake.

"Hunt was too much of a coward, he couldn't have attacked you." She gripped Harry's shoulder. "Did you kill the being that dared to make you _bleed_?" she asked, her beautiful features pulled in a scowl.

Harry closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. Bella's behaviour changed instantly. Concern flooded every line of her face. She let go of Harry and moved to kneel in front of him, so she could look at his face.

"Harry?" The boy opened his eyes and looked at her. "Who was it?"

Harry held her gaze as the word fell from his lips.

"Potter"

Bella backed up a bit; her eyes were fixed to Harry's face. No one spoke for a few minutes, Bella still kneeling in front of Harry, her hands on Harry's knees. Harry was looking away from her, lost in his own thoughts. Finally, Bella spoke.

"Did you kill him?" she asked quietly.

"Not sure." came the whispered response.

Bella didn't say anymore and got up to her feet. She moved to a corner of Harry's room, fishing out a small box. She walked back over to Harry, who was still sitting in the same position and sat next to him. She opened the box and took out a small vial. She pointed at Harry's wounded arm and started to say the incantation to heal him.

"Don't!" Harry hissed, stopping her.

"Why?" she asked lowering her wand.

Harry turned to look at her, the gleam that was in his eyes made the emerald green glisten.

"I'll do it myself." He hissed.

"If you were going to heal yourself, you would have done so already." She replied.

Harry looked away from her and got up, moving away from her reach.

"Harry…"

"Get out!" Harry hissed at her.

Bella rose to her feet.

"Not until you are healed. I'm not leaving you until that wound is gone."

Harry turned to look at her, a frightening look in his eyes.

"It's not the first time he's made me bleed. I can handle it." he said.

Bella looked uncomfortable and she looked away from him.

"Harry…"

"Go, leave me alone." Harry said and turned to the door behind him, closing it with a bang.

The memory faded after that. Before the next memory could start, Harry stopped it. He decided he had seen enough. He wanted to learn more but he didn't think he could handle anymore today. He was exhausted, both mentally and emotionally. His counterpart's emotions were draining him, especially the fierce hate for his dad. He looked up at the ceiling and suddenly he was zooming up towards it.

The pensieve spat him out and Harry stumbled, trying to catch his footing. He fell back but a pair of arms caught him, saving him from falling to the ground. Harry was helped to his feet and he turned around to see it was Damien who had helped him.

Before Harry could say anything to him, Damien gave him a panicked, pointed look. Puzzled, Harry turned around and froze at the sight. James was sitting on the sofa and didn't look very happy at all.

--

_**Canon World**_

Ron and Hermione sat at breakfast; both looking bleary eyed and rather worried. Ron kept shooting the doors nervous glances, obviously waiting for someone to arrive.

"Stop doing that!" Hermione whispered.

Ron looked away and dropped his gaze.

"Sorry" he muttered, playing with the food on his plate. "I just, I still can't believe this happened. If I had slept at all last night I would have thought it was all a dream."

Hermione nodded her head, chancing a quick look at the staff table. She looked away after spotting the Headmaster.

"I know we promised him, but," she bit her lip. "A part of me is screaming to go to Professor Dumbledore."

Ron looked at the staff table too. He nodded his head.

"Me too." he met Hermione's worried gaze. They stared at each other, silently debating whether they could break the promise they made last night. Ron shook his head, lowering his head into his hands.

"Damn it, we can't do that. It's _Harry_, we can't go back on our word. It doesn't feel right doing that to him." Ron said.

Hermione sighed heavily.

"I want to talk to him," she gave Ron a meaningful look, signalling she was talking about their Harry, the one currently in another universe. "I think once we talk to him, we might feel…better." she finished uncertainly.

Ron shook his head.

"I don't know if we can ever be okay with this. I mean," he looked around him before dropping his voice to a low whisper. "You _heard_ him last night? All that stuff he said, what he did, how he grew up, I mean damn! That was seriously messed up stuff!"

"Shush!" Hermione hissed annoyed.

Ron dropped his voice lower and continued.

"I know that it's him, it's Harry but everything is so…different. I swear it's like…like he's…like he's Harry's evil twin."

"Gee, thanks Ron."

Ron and Hermione both jumped at the voice and turned around to see Harry standing behind them. He had a smirk playing on his lips as he took a seat next to the now petrified looking Ron.

"I…I didn't…it didn't come out right. I meant, I meant it in another way…" Ron stuttered.

"Oh, right. Like the good type of evil?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

Ron and Hermione both blushed crimson and looked at each other.

"Sorry, Harry." Hermione said with genuine regret. "We shouldn't have been talking about you."

Harry waved her apology aside.

"Don't worry about it; you're not the first to whisper about me." He smiled at her, a playful glint in his eyes. "I think I'm starting to get used to it." he filled his plate with food and started on breakfast. "But I would appreciate it if you would talk about me in a less populated area." He said gesturing to the hall filled with students.

Ron and Hermione were sitting in a mostly secluded part of the table; the nearest student was at least six seats away. Hermione turned her eyes on Harry.

"No one heard us, I'm sure." She said looking around and sighing with relief as no one was even looking in their direction.

"How did you hear us? I was whispering." Ron asked looking at Harry properly now.

Harry shrugged.

"I have good hearing." He said in reply.

"Do…do you think we can talk to him now?" Hermione asked.

Harry paused for a second before continuing with his breakfast.

"He's not back yet." He replied.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"I checked before coming down for breakfast." Harry said. "I'm not calling him back. If he wants to talk to you guys he'll call me."

They fell silent after that. Harry finished his breakfast and pushed his plate aside. He stood up, frowning at the two sitting figures.

"Are you two coming?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Hermione said getting up. "I just, I hoped we could speak to him soon. It's going to be hard to focus on classes today."

Harry studied her for a moment. After a pause he grabbed onto Hermione's hand, startling her initially.

"Come on." he said quietly.

He led her out of the Great Hall, still holding her hand guiding her. Ron was following the pair, looking quite puzzled.

Harry entered one of the empty classrooms and locked the door before casting privacy spells on the door and windows. Hermione and Ron were standing in the middle of the classroom, looking perplexed.

"Harry? What's going on?" Hermione asked.

Harry pulled out his phone and pushed the green button. The phone rang barely two rings before it was answered.

"Damy, who are you with right now?" Harry asked. He listened for the answer. "Okay, give her the phone."

Harry held out the phone to Hermione. The bushy haired fifteen year old took it with slightly shaky hands.

"Who am I going to speak to?" she asked Harry as she held the phone.

Harry smiled at her.

"Yourself" he answered.

xxx

Hermione walked to her first class with a bounce in her step, her face flushed and her hair positively on end.

"That was the single, most amazing experience of my life!" she exclaimed.

"Um, okay." Harry muttered.

"I mean, I actually talked to her, to _myself_," she whispered the last word, leaning in to Harry so only he could hear her. "You don't know how exciting that is." She said in fervour. Then looking at the two boys walking alongside her she whispered. "Okay, so both of you _do_ know but, how amazing was that?"

Ron while clearly astounded by talking to his other dimensional self was not as excited as Hermione.

"I know it was…weird." He said walking along slowly.

"Ron, it wasn't weird! Okay so it was a little weird but weird in a good way, not in the really, really bad weird way, you know?"

Harry shook his head.

"I swear, I'm never doing that again." He promised himself.

Hermione ignored him.

xxx

The day went by in a blur, Ron and Hermione were too tired to pay any real attention to their lessons and their mealtimes were taken over by chatting to Harry, sharing more stories about their world.

By the evening, Harry was exhausted. They went to bed early, since Ron and Hermione could hardly keep their eyes open. They retired to bed, reminding Harry about the trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow.

Harry didn't think about what was happening in his world until he was alone and was in bed. He lay staring at the ceiling, wondering what his counterpart was going through right now. Everything he had learned today was easy to take in and accept but what the other Harry was learning, that was a different story altogether.

Harry went to sleep without trying his phone; he figured if Damien or Harry wanted to talk to him, they would phone him.

xxx

The next day, Harry was awoken by Ron.

"Harry, get up. Everyone is getting ready for Hogsmeade, we can't be late."

After a quick shower and a hurried breakfast, the three were rushing to join the large group of students and teachers. They set off for the town of Hogsmeade, their first trip of the year. Harry enjoyed the walk down, it was more enjoyable than apparating all the time. Hermione and Ron made small talk all the way down, aware of the large crowd of students around them.

They headed straight for the Three Broomsticks, eager to get in and get seats before the pub got overcrowded. They walked in, Harry glancing around the pub, noting the differences in décor. It was clear to see the place hadn't been renovated or redone for at least twenty years.

Harry sat down, holding back the smile. At least the pub wasn't as unlucky as its counterpart. This one hadn't been attacked, yet. Shaking his head at his own thought, Harry looked up, only to find two pairs of eyes fixed to him.

"What?" he asked reflexively.

Hermione was the first to speak.

"Nothing, I was just," she looked at Ron before continuing, "I was just thinking, there is so much to talk about but," she glanced a wary look around. "We can't really talk here, too many people."

Harry smiled as he leaned back against his seat.

"Go ahead; it's too noisy in here for anyone to pick up what were talking about."

Hermione looked relieved and dove straight into questions, mostly about herself.

"So I'm a researcher?" she asked with a sparkle in her eyes.

Ron shook his head as he got up.

"I'll fetch the butterbeers." He said.

"No butterbeer for me, anything but that." Harry quickly told the red haired boy. At his confused look, Harry added. "I've lost my taste for them."

With a shrug, Ron left, fighting the crowd to get to the bar.

"So, Harry, what is my job like? Do I have an office? How many hours do I work? Do I work alone or with a team, oh I hope they're as enthusiastic about the projects as I am!"

Harry just blinked at her.

"Do I look like your employer?" he asked.

Hermione backed away, looking almost afraid.

"Sorry, I just…I never got a chance to ask exactly what my job was like. I just thought you would know."

"I honestly have no idea. You got the job after I left." Harry replied.

"Oh" Hermione looked down at her hands before looking back up at him.

"I…she told me not to be afraid." Hermione said after an awkward pause. "Of you." she elaborated.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Did she?"

"She, she said that you could be harsh at times but you don't really mean it and that you're a good friend. I can relate to that." She smiled, "Har-he does that too, sometimes."

Harry looked interested now.

"Yeah?"

Hermione nodded her head.

"In our third year, all this stuff was happening with, with Snuffles and Harr-he was sent this mysterious broomstick. It was top of the range, A Firebolt. Harry was ecstatic. But at the time, we didn't know that Snuffles was a friend. I was sure the broom was jinked so I, I got it confiscated. Harry was so mad at me." She suddenly looked afraid at her slip of tongue and quickly looked around her to make sure no one had heard her. But the surrounding tables were so full of students and the noise level was so high, it was impossible for anyone to eavesdrop.

Harry was giving her his full attention.

"He didn't talk to me for ages, gave me the silent treatment. I could understand it but it still really hurt."

"I couldn't ask you this before," Harry said leaning in a little. "But who the hell is Snuffles?"

Hermione looked at Harry for a moment then a big grin appeared.

"Of course, you wouldn't know." she laughed. "Snuffles is...Padfoot." she answered.

"Padfoot? You mean Sirius?" the name had yet to fall from his lips, when Hermione reacted, hushing him and glancing quick glances around.

"Don't say his name!" she urged desperately.

"Why? Don't tell me his name is taboo too? What do they call him? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named- The Second?"

Hermione glared at him still looked shaken.

"No, but if someone heard you…"

"I already told you, the chances of being overheard in here are next to none. I can hardly hear you it's so noisy."

"Some names will catch attention no matter what and his name is one of them." Hermione said a note of sadness in her voice.

Harry shook his head, mumbling a few choice words to himself.

"The Ministry is so stupid. How can they blame what happened on him? Can't they see he was my dad's best friend? He would rather have died than betray him." Harry knew in his heart that was the truth.

"That's just the thing. They believe that _he_ was jealous of your dad. They think he went to You-Know-Who out of envy. I read in the papers, when he escaped two years ago, that speculation was that he snapped since you dad had everything, a wife, a kid, a nice home, a recent promotion and he had nothing, no family, no children, a ruined home that he had been kicked out of some eight years previous. They said it was jealously that led him to betray his friend."

Harry didn't say anything, he looked away and concentrated with everything he had on pushing away the memory Hermione's words had brought back to him, his worst memory yet,

'_Envy is one thing that can lead to many bizarre crimes. You have family, Black does not. You have children, Black does not. You have a somewhat nice home, Black only has the ruined home that has now been turned into the Headquarters, to your pathetic Order. You see Potter, Black has nothing when you have everything. You are even in a higher Auror rank than he is. I think that's enough to make one man insanely jealous enough to kill.'_

Harry could hear his own voice in his head, saying the bitter cruel words to his dad, as he lay on the frost covered ground, injured and bleeding. He pushed the memory away, not wanting to think about it or the fact that the cruel, unjust revenge he had planned for Sirius had actually come to pass, just not in his world.

He looked down and realised he had clenched his hands into fists so tight, his nails had dug into his skin, almost making them bleed. He quickly unfurled his hands and focused on stopping them from shaking.

Hermione was studying Harry, her head cocked to the side as she stared at Harry

"Can I ask? How did we become friends?"

Harry didn't answer right away, making Hermione explain her curiosity.

"It's just, things happened in this…here, that made us come together. We fought a troll together, well, Ron and Harry did, I was cowering under a sink at the time, but I did correct Ron with his levitation spell, which he used to knock the tro-" she stopped as Harry held out a hand silencing her.

"You don't have to explain, I get it." Harry said. He was thankful for the change of topic. He shifted in his seat, wondering exactly what to tell her, not because he was trying to cover anything up but because he couldn't honestly remember when the girl had stopped being 'Mudblood-Granger' and became 'Hermione' to him.

"You don't have to tell me if you, you know, don't want to." Hermione quickly said, noting his hesitance.

"The truth is, I don't know. When I first met you, I didn't like you." Harry saw the hurt expression on her face.

"Oh" she said, looking down at her knees.

"You didn't like me either." Harry added.

Hermione's head snapped up to look at him with a look of disbelief.

"What? Why?"

"Oh, I don't know," mused Harry. "Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I worked for someone who targeted people like you." At her confused look Harry rolled his eyes and whispered, "Muggle borns!"

"Oh, right." A look of grim understanding crossed her features. "Right, of course. So we weren't friends right away. That's okay, I mean, I wasn't friends with him straight away either. I was always trying to be helpful but he and Ron…well they found me annoying."

"Hmm, fancy that." Harry said sarcastically.

Hermione gave him a look but then carried on.

"But after they saved my life, we sort of came together." She said a proud look on her face.

At that point, Ron arrived with the drinks.

"Finally, phew! That was some queue." He grumbled as he took his seat. He placed Hermione and his own butterbeer bottles in front of their seats and handed Harry a bottle of Ginger root.

Harry lifted the drink and looked affronted.

"Ginger root?" he asked.

"There wasn't much else." Ron said embarrassedly.

"You could have got me _anything_ else. What about Firewhiskey?"

"You can't drink that!" Hermione answered at once.

"I'm eighteen." Harry whispered to her.

"Yeah, but Madame Rosemerta wouldn't have sold me it." Ron answered glumly.

Harry gave up the fight and sat back, sipping at the drink. It actually wasn't all that bad, but Harry wasn't about to tell Ron or Hermione that.

They continued talking about their worlds, sharing small facts and stories. Harry did most of the listening.

"So, you guys flew a muggle car all the way from London to Hogwarts and then smashed it into a tree?" Harry summarised.

"Not just any tree, it was the _Whomping Willow_." Ron said, screwing up his face as he named the tree. "I swear, we were treated like we had caused the monstrous thing damage. The thing nearly killed us, but no one cared about that detail."

Harry shrugged.

"Can't say I'm surprised, the Headmaster does have this thing were he doesn't care about _his_ people."

The other two hushed up and looked uncomfortable. Ron wasn't hinting at Dumbledore at all. His target was Snape but Harry had taken the conversation straight to degrading Dumbledore.

"The Headmaster was actually concerned about us." Ron said in a small voice.

Harry snorted.

"Yeah, sure he was." He took another sip from his bottle.

The door opened and Harry was instantly distracted from his conversation. He peered over at the short woman as she walked in, pulling the bright pink shawl tightly over her shoulders. Her stubby fingers with their numerous ugly rings, held onto the shawl, keeping it tightly over her.

Harry watched as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, Professor Umbridge walked into the pub, looking around the overcrowded place with her cheery grin in place. Harry watched as she had a bit of trouble getting to the bar but she soon disappeared into the large crowd and couldn't be seen.

Harry turned from the sight and found Ron and Hermione staring at the woman in pink too.

"I can see the message on her forehead is finally gone." Ron said with a sigh to show how sad he was about that.

"Rumour has it she had to pay a hefty price for the extremely rare and expensive herbs to be imported from East Asia and then went through two weeks of treatment to get rid of the scars, but they're finally gone." Hermione said.

Suddenly she and Ron snapped their heads to look at Harry. He couldn't help but smirk at their expressions.

"It…it was you. You did…that?" Ron asked in awe.

Harry only sipped from his bottle, not saying a word. Hermione was staring at him.

"How did you do it? That's magic I can't even begin to figure out." Hermione gushed.

Harry shifted, uncomfortable with the praise.

"It's wasn't that hard." Harry said nonchalantly.

Hermione was studying Harry again, her brown eyes gazing deeply into Harry's. To shift the focus from himself, Harry started talking about Umbridge and her position as High Inquisitor.

"I can't believe the Minister is giving her so much power over Hogwarts. I mean she's going to be inspecting our classes! Can you imagine what will come next?" Ron grimaced.

"Checking students and their progress?" Harry suggested.

"Exactly, she'll probably get the orders passed to sack any teacher and expel any student she doesn't like!" Ron said heavily.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Hermione muttered, her eyes now fixed on the small woman sitting with her drink, making talk with the pub owner.

"The Minister is an idiot." Harry claimed quietly. "If he hadn't proved it yet, he's done so now with placing her as a teacher. The woman knows nothing about Defence against the Dark Arts. She's useless, completely and utterly useless." Harry said.

"Yeah, and what is up with that book? Pre first years could read that." Ron said disgusted.

"That's just it. It's not just the Defence class; it's all of the classes that have a problem. The standard is so low; everyone is slacking off, not working for their grades at all. If the work was difficult, you would have to work for your pass mark and you would actually learn something too." Harry had to stop himself, he could feel the familiar churn of annoyance within him at how behind Hogwarts was with its teaching methods.

Hermione was looking at Harry with a strange look on her face. She snapped out of her daze and blushed, looking down and biting her lip.

"I wonder what we'll learn, if anything, from the old hag." Ron said as he took another sip of his butterbeer.

"You'll be lucky if you learn how to take your wand out of your bag in her class." Harry said. "I'm telling you, if you ever meet Voldemort or his Death Eaters, that little trick of getting your wand out will come in real handy."

Harry didn't take in the terrified expressions of the two Gryffindors before him. He downed the rest of his drink, getting to his feet. "So, you want to show me around your Hogsmeade or what?"

xxx

It was late into the evening and the three Gryffindors were the only ones left in the common room. Harry was itching to get away now, he had spent the entire day with pair and although he enjoyed parts of the day, when hearing about his counterparts escapades and learning more interesting facts about him, Harry was now craving for his solitude.

"Okay, I'm out." Harry said standing up.

"Oh, okay, um, night then." Hermione said.

"I'm right behind you Harry. I'm shattered." Ron said standing up and stretching his long limbs.

The boys turned to the staircase and were just about to climb up the steps when Hermione called from behind them.

"Harry, wait."

Harry and Ron both turned around to look at her.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I…I need to talk to you, just for a minute."

Harry looked at Ron who looked at Hermione with confusion.

"You too, Ronald." Hermione said quickly.

The boys walked back and sat down. Hermione looked nervous and she kept her gaze away from Harry as she spoke.

"I've been thinking, ever since our conversation in the Three Broomsticks," she looked down, her face showing her nervousness. "I think you're right."

Harry looked confused now.

"About what?" he asked.

"About, about You-Know-Who and about us not being prepared to face him." her voice shook as she spoke about Voldemort and Ron let out a small whimper.

"I'm sorry if I freaked you guys out," Harry started. "I was just telling it how it is."

Hermione shook her head.

"No, no, no. I'm not freaked out, well, okay I am, but that's not what I wanted to talk about." She took a deep breath as he locked her gaze with Harry. "I think we have to fend for ourselves. The Ministry is crippling us by sending that woman to supposedly _teach_ us. The school can't do anything about her and her status as the High Inquisitor will only cause more hardship."

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron asked looking at her with wide blue eyes.

"I think we should learn Defence against the Dark Arts by ourselves." Hermione said keeping her eyes on Harry.

"I think that's a good idea." Harry agreed.

"Really? You do?" Hermione asked sounding very relieved. She looked at Ron for his approval.

"Yeah, I mean I don't know how much I can cram in, what with the rest of my classes and my Prefect duties and eating and sleeping, but whatever time I have to spare I could look up spells and stuff." Ron put in unhappily.

Hermione shook her head.

"You don't quite understand. See, we can't learn Defence against the Dark Arts like that. It needs a proper routine, with proper lessons and a proper teacher." Her eyes fell on Harry and she nodded at him.

Harry understood then and his emerald eyes shot wide open.

"Oh, no, no, no, hell no!" Harry said as he got up to his feet.

"Harry, wait please. At least hear me out." Hermione too got to her feet.

"I don't need to. I know what you're going to say but let me save you some time and effort. The answer is, not a snowball's chance in hell." Harry answered.

"But, Harry you're the one who pointed out how much danger we're all in with not learning how to defend ourselves. We have to do something about this, we have to learn how to defend ourselves and if our Professor doesn't teach us then we need someone else who will."

"Forget it, I'm not teaching anyone anything." Harry shot back.

"But why? You know all this advanced magic. You're strong and you've been in situations that called for you to defend yourself. You could help us a lot by showing us what you know." Hermione said.

"What I know is ten ways to kill you where you stand!" Harry growled at her. Hermione fell silent, Ron shifted nervously beside him. "That's what I know, Hermione. I know magic but its dark magic, magic that you would get thrown into Azkaban for just mentioning. Is that what you want?" he asked.

Hermione managed to gulp down the fear that was pressing in on her and she shook her head.

"No, I just want some help." She said in a whisper.

"I can't help you." Harry bluntly told her.

"You can, but you won't." Hermione whispered again but this time she met Harry's eyes as she spoke.

"Fine, that's the way it is then. I don't want to help you." Harry reiterated.

Silence rang in the room as the three stared at each other. Hermione looked down at the ground before lifting her gaze.

"Okay, I'm sorry to have mentioned it. I just thought you might want to…it doesn't matter. Good night, Harry, night, Ron." She brushed past the boys and left, her footsteps echoing in the room.

Ron turned to face Harry, a wary look on his face.

"It's late; we better get to our dormitory." He headed up the steps, not looking back.

Harry let out a sigh before turning and heading upstairs too, clearing his mind of the argument he had with Hermione.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review! Cheers!!


	21. Secrets

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty One**

_**AU World**_

Harry blinked up at James, panic blossoming rapidly inside him, making it difficult for him to breathe. He saw James stand up and walk slowly towards him. Damien next to him shifted uncomfortably. Harry didn't look away as James' gaze bore into him. He looked really upset.

James came to rest before Harry. For the first few moments no one spoke, then James let out a sigh and his hand came to rest on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, I don't know what to say."

Harry blinked back up at him. He turned to look at Damien, prompting him to speak.

"I've told dad everything, Harry." Damien said in a quiet voice.

Harry's heart leapt painfully in his chest, everything? Damien had told their dad everything? Harry swallowed nervously, not daring to look at the man now, for fear of seeing rejection in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" James asked.

Harry looked at the ground, keeping his gaze fixed at his feet.

"Tell him, Harry," Damien prompted. "Tell him about Selena."

Harry looked up at him confused.

"Selena?" he asked.

"The witch who told you about the memory spell. I told dad about her." Damien said calmly.

Harry realised what was going on. Damien hadn't told his dad the truth; once again he had come up with some sort of lie.

"I thought you would know better." James said, his voice laced with sadness.

Harry looked up at him then, noting the empathy in his father's eyes. Harry didn't say anything but held his dad's gaze.

"Harry, I know how you feel about losing those memories," James started with a sigh, his grip on his shoulder tightening. "But once someone's mind had been obliviated that's it, those memories that are erased by the spell can't be recovered, not by a spell or a potion or by any other means. You know that, I know that you do." He said a note of desperation in his voice now.

Harry hung his head again, trying to process this new piece of information. Harry's memories had been taken away from him, he had been obliviated. He felt his head spin, had anything ever gone right for his counterpart?

"Dad, I think Harry's had enough." Damien cut in, stepping forward. "I think the lecture can wait until tomorrow."

"And I think you better stay out of this, you're in enough trouble as it is." James told him sternly.

Harry glanced sideways at Damien to see him pull him a face.

"I told you, I only found out what Harry was doing a few minutes before he went into the pensieve." Damien offered.

"You knew that a woman sold Harry a spell that would bring back his obliviated memories. You knew he was trying it out in his pensieve. You should have come straight to me or your mum." James said, clearly annoyed. "Merlin knows what spell it was and what it could have done…" he trailed off, suddenly turning to Harry with a concerned look. "Did it work?" he asked quietly. "Did you remember anything?"

Harry shook his head slowly.

"No, it didn't work." Harry said, his voice sounding hollow and empty to his own ears.

James looked at Harry with even more sympathy now, hearing how broken his voice sounded.

"What spell did this, this Selena give you?" James asked, anger evident in his voice.

Damien opened his mouth to answer but Harry beat him to it.

"It doesn't matter. It didn't work. I don't remember anything of my forgotten memories. Let's not make a huge deal about this, okay?" Harry spoke tiredly.

"But, Harry…"

"Dad, please," Harry cut across him. "I just want to forget this day happened. Please, just drop it."

James stared at Harry for long minutes. Finally he nodded his head, somewhat reluctantly.

"Alright, but I don't want you to ever risk using an unknown spell again. You don't know how much of a risk you took." The fury was back again now and Harry understood why he looked so angry when he had just returned from the pensieve. "There are plenty of people wanting to get to you, Harry. You can't put yourself at risk…"

"I won't, I promise." Harry said quietly.

James didn't say anymore and nodded his head once at Harry.

"Are you guys coming?" James asked as he neared the door.

"In a minute, I just…" Harry trailed off.

"I understand," James said as he opened the door. He looked to Damien but he nodded at Harry gesturing that he was going to stay with him. James nodded back. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly to Harry. "I can imagine how much you wanted that spell to work. I'm sorry it didn't." James said.

Harry nodded his head again, not knowing what to say to that.

xxx

James left, leaving only Harry and Damien in the room. Both boys let out a deep sigh of relief. Damien turned to look at Harry.

"How, how are you now?" Damien asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Harry opened his mouth but no words came out. He realised that Damien was staring at him and he knew that he probably looked like a mess. He had cried, been sick, yelled and screamed. He probably looked like he had been through hell and back. It a sense that was true, all he had seen and felt in that pensieve had felt like going through hell.

Harry nodded his head, not sure himself what he was trying to gesture. Damien turned to the pensieve and tapped it with his wand. It shrunk and transformed into the ring again. Damien picked it up and turned to Harry.

"Is there more you need to see? You can take it if you want. Once you're satisfied, you can return it to me."

Harry took the ring and slipped it on. He felt his head spin again and he barely made it to the seat and collapsed into it.

"Here," Damien placed a plate of sandwiches next to him. "You haven't had anything to eat all day." He sounded a bit ashamed, which Harry couldn't understand. Damien wasn't responsible for him going without food. Harry actually had forgotten all about eating. Watching the horrific memories and seeing how twisted his life had been in this new world, Harry had been completely unaware of his rumbling stomach.

He didn't feel much like eating now either so he ignored the plate. He sat in silence, Damien chancing small glances at him. Long minutes ticked by but neither boy spoke. Hesitantly, Damien started the conversion.

"I told Harry, about what happened. He said that if you wanted to talk to him, you could."

Harry looked up at Damien and saw him offering the phone to him. He shook his head, what was he supposed to say to Harry? Nothing he could say would mean anything.

"Okay, if you change your mind, just let me know." Damien pocketed his phone. They lapsed into silence again. This time it was Harry who broke it.

"What was dad talking about?" Harry asked quietly. "Just now about, about Harry's memories. Who obliviated him?"

"Voldemort." Damien answered. "Harry found out that when he was growing up he had been obliviated by Voldemort many times. If Harry ever learned anything that Voldemort didn't like, he obliviated Harry."

Harry processed this, feeling his chest tighten again.

"How did Harry find out?" he asked.

Damien looked at Harry for a moment before answering slowly.

"Peter Pettigrew told him."

Harry's eyes widened with surprise.

"Peter?"

Damien nodded his head, looking down at the ground.

"How did, when did Harry meet Peter?" Harry asked, astonished.

Damien gave Harry a strange look.

"Will you believe me now? Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you again?"

Harry didn't answer right away, he thought about it and realised he still trusted the boy, even after all the lies he had told him.

"Somehow, I don't think you'll lie to me now." Harry said quietly.

Damien looked relieved. He let a small smile cross his face as he nodded his head.

"I swear, no more lies. I didn't like lying to you but I had to, you understand now why, right?" he asked uncertainly.

Harry felt his throat tighten again at the recollection of what he had seen. He nodded his head again, dropping his gaze from Damien.

"What did you see? What memories did you see?" Damien asked, leaning closer to him.

Harry shut his eyes as the images of the memories flashed before him.

"His childhood, him running away, meeting him…" Harry shook his head before burying his face into his hands. "I still can't believe this. I can't believe this happened, what he did to Harry, how he tricked him…!"

"I know, he used Harry, made him believe his parents hated him and wanted to hurt him. He broke Harry, just so he could build him and mould him into an obedient follower." Damien said his anger clear in his voice.

"I…I saw what he did to…to dad." Harry said after a short pause. "He nearly killed him." Harry whispered.

Damien's face lost its colour; he looked ready to be sick.

"You saw that?" he asked, remembering that awful day in December when his dad had been thrown off a cliff by Harry.

"He wanted to kill him," Harry continued. "He was fighting him and trying to get away but he wanted to hurt him, to kill him. I could feel it, Damien. I could feel everything Harry felt at that time. He really wanted to kill dad. He hated him so much…"

"Don't, Harry. Just…don't tell me." Damien pleaded, shaking his head.

Harry looked up at the boy and saw his pale complexion.

"Sorry," Harry quickly said. "I didn't mean to, sorry."

Damien let out a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down.

"I've tried to block that day out. I've made myself believe it never happened." explained Damien. "If I think about it, I…" he shook his head and rubbed his face tiredly. "I'll drive myself mad. I keep imagining what would have happened if Uncle Sirius never got to him, if he never saved him." Damien whispered the last words.

Harry remembered his Godfather's yell and the sound of his footsteps rushing to help his friend.

"Thanks to Sirius, dad survived. He must have got dad to the hospital in time for them to stop the bleeding." Harry mused.

Damien looked at Harry in confusion.

"Actually, Uncle Sirius brought dad back to Hogwarts." He said, remembering that day all too well.

Harry looked shocked.

"What?! But why? He should have taken him to St Mungos! That blade had almost cut dad's throat open! He should have been taken to St Mungos at once." Harry cried out.

"Harry, what are you talking about?!" Damien asked now completely confused.

"Dad was attacked by Harry. He threw a blade or something like that at him. It had hit dad here," Harry said gesturing to the side of his neck. "The last thing I saw was dad collapsing on the ground as his blood ran down his hands and clothes!" Harry said, tears threatening to spill over at the memory.

Damien sat still, his hazel eyes fixed on Harry unwaveringly.

"That was Harry?" he asked in a whisper. "Harry…Harry did that to him?"

Harry calmed down and stared at him.

"You, you didn't know?" Harry asked.

Damien shook his head, his face had lost its colour and Harry was certain the boy was either going to pass out soon or be violently sick.

"I remember, seeing dad in hospital. I remember visiting him. His injury," Damien's hand involuntarily travelled up to his neck, "was deep and took time to heal. I know he was attacked but I…I didn't know it was Harry who..." Damien trailed off.

Harry felt a surge of pity for the boy. He could see how much this revelation had hurt him.

"I'm sorry." Harry said, not sure why he was apologising but it felt the right thing to do. Harry turned to Damien after a pause. "What were you talking about then? If you didn't know Harry had attacked dad, what were you talking about when you said Sirius saved him?"

Damien gave Harry a bitter smile.

"It seems Harry's tried to kill dad a few times." He said miserably.

Harry listened to Damien as he recalled the day Harry had tricked James and took him to the isolated point in Hogsmeade and had hurt him before throwing him off the cliff.

"…luckily, Uncle Sirius managed to arrive just in time and stopped dad's fall, before he hit the rocks. He saved his life." Damien finished.

Harry sat still, his hands clasped tightly together, jaw clenched hard. He knew it wasn't Harry's fault, he was only avenging the atrocities done to him as a child, but it was too difficult not to place blame on him. James was innocent. He had suffered for no reason at all.

"How can dad be okay with him?" Harry asked at last. "Harry tried to kill him, twice! How can dad forgive him?"

"Because he knows Harry was tricked. He knows that Harry would never have hurt him if he knew the truth." Damien explained. "Besides, dad would never blame Harry. Harry does enough of that himself." He added sadly.

Harry suddenly realised that was most likely true. His counterpart was bound to feel guilty over trying to kill the man who did nothing but love him. The pieces of the puzzle that was his counterpart started moving into place and Harry finally began to understand this other Harry.

"That's why he fights with dad." Harry said in a small voice. "He feels guilty but dad treats him just like normal and that frustrates him."

Damien looked taken aback. He recovered and asked in a whisper.

"Do you reckon that's what it is?"

"Yeah, I do. Think about it, if dad had argued with Harry, yelled at him, blamed him for threatening his life, Harry would have felt punished and he could start mending the relationship. But if what you're saying is right, and dad never placed the blame on him then Harry feels guilty but has no way of making up for it. He can't get over it because he feels he's not been punished for it." Harry finished.

"I think Harry's been punished enough." Damien was quick to retort.

Harry looked up at Damien, his gaze softening.

"I never said he _deserved_ to be punished. I'm just saying what I think he feels. I know that's how I would have felt." Harry said in a low whisper.

Damien calmed at that and looked down.

"He does have guilt issues," he said slowly. "Too many actually."

Harry looked intrigued but Damien shook his head.

"It's really late now, you've had a really long day, all of us have actually. I think the rest should be left until tomorrow."

Harry agreed and got up, his limbs feeling oddly stretched and painful, like he had not used his muscles in days. He had reached the door before Damien spoke.

"Harry, you won't go to Dumbledore, will you?" he asked nervously.

Harry took a moment answering.

"No," Damien looked deeply relieved. "But I still don't understand why Harry doesn't trust him. Dumbledore would never hurt Harry."

Damien gave him a withering look.

"Just wait until you've seen all his memories." He said opening the door.

xxx

A soft pop echoed in the night. The wizard that had just apparated pulled his cloak tightly around himself. He walked towards the magnificent manor in front of him, taking care not to slip on the frost covered ground. His footsteps echoed loudly as the man reached the door.

He stood in front of the main door and hesitated for a moment before knocking twice. The door was answered quickly; the muttered incantation to reveal who was visiting was heard momentarily before the door swung open.

The blond haired man held the door open, his grey eyes narrowed at his late night visitor. His mask of indifference slipped and his surprise was visible for a few seconds before the mask was replaced.

"Potter? To what do I owe this honour?" Lucius asked silkily.

James scowled at him in response.

"You think I could come inside? It's freezing out here."

Lucius smirked but moved aside to let the man enter. James hurried inside, trembling from the cold. The door closed with a soft click and Lucius lead his unexpected visitor into the large parlour.

James looked around the impressive room, idly taking note of how much bigger the place was compared to Potter Manor.

"You can take a seat, Potter." Lucius drawled as he sat down in the chair next to the dying fire.

James sat down, feeling very uncomfortable. Never in his life did he think he would come to Malfoy Manor by his own free will.

Silence ensued between the two men. The ex Auror shifted uncomfortably while the ex Death Eater watched him quietly, no emotion visible on his face.

"Narcissa?" James enquired quietly.

"She's already retired to her bed." Lucius answered politely.

James nodded his head.

"Yeah, I guess it is quite late." He mused. Lucius didn't respond. James shifted again and then looked up to meet the man's questioning gaze. "You're probably wondering why I'm here." James started.

"It did cross my mind." Lucius smirked.

James took a deep breath, deciding to just come out and say it.

"I need…I need your help." James gritted out with difficulty.

Lucius laughed at that and picked up his half filled glass and swirled the amber liquid around.

"My, my, the famous James Potter needs my help?" He drank from his glass and looked smugly at James. "Why would you think I would help you?"

"Because we helped you. Sirius took you in when…"

"Correction, you never helped me and neither did your mutt! If anyone helped me it was Harry." Lucius cut in.

"And now I need your help for Harry." James said.

Lucius stilled, his expression changing to one of worry.

"Harry? What's wrong with him?" he asked at once.

"I don't know." James admitted with a sigh. "But he's been acting really strange lately."

Lucius calmed down, the concern on his face changed into a sneer.

"That's why you've come to me? Because your son is acting strange?" Lucius looked at James smugly. "How would you know if Harry was acting strange? You don't even know him well enough to draw such a conclusion?" Satisfied that his words had struck a nerve, he added with a chuckle, "I never thought the day would come when you would come to me for help. The high and mighty James Potter asking for help; I must say, this is…refreshing."

James closed his eyes, his fists clenched hard and tight. He let out a slow breath. 'Harry, I'm doing this for Harry' was the mantra he kept repeating to himself.

"You're the only one who can help me." James grit out with difficulty

Lucius let out another chuckle and sat back in his seat, eyeing the man before him.

"Really?"

James looked at Lucius, his eyes fixed to the arrogant man.

"I'm asking for your help, not because I want to but because you owe Harry. He saved your life as well as your son's."

Lucius' smirk fell from his face at the mention of Draco. He sat still in his seat.

"Whatever debt I have to Harry is my personal matter. Unlike you, I know Harry. My relationship with him is…" Lucius was abruptly cut off as James let out a sudden bitter laugh.

"Relationship? What relationship, Malfoy? On what base did you build this _relationship_?" James asked, his eyes burning now. Lucius stayed quiet, not offering an answer.

James leaned over in his seat, his face closer to the sitting form of Lucius.

"You took away my son." James said in a quiet voice filled with intense hatred. "Don't think for a second that I have forgotten or that I have excused the fact that you hurt my baby boy."

Lucius' pale face suddenly lost more colour. He stayed in his seat but his fingers were suddenly clutching the armrests of his seat, his fingers digging into the material.

"I saw what you did," continued James, "I saw how you hurt him, how you treated him. So don't sit there and brag to me that you have a closer relationship with my son when you were the one who hurt him mercilessly." James cocked his head to the side, fierce hazel eyes pinning the other man to his seat. "What age was he, Malfoy? What age was my Harry when you started to hurt him? Did you enjoy it? Did you beat my son, hurt him, make him bleed and then come home to your wife and tuck your son into bed with a kiss to the forehead? Did it not occur to you that the boy you were breaking, were hurting was the same age as your son? Did that never bother you?"

Lucius was deathly quiet, his sneer and mask of indifference was gone. His face was ashen, grey eyes fixed on James, not daring to leave the man's face. Thin lips were pressed tightly together and his fingers had nearly dug holes into the armrests.

"Don't delude yourself that you're still in one piece because I can't hurt you. The only reason I have left you alone is because that's what _Harry_ wants. It is only for him that I have refrained myself from hurting you." James' icy glare faltered when he next spoke, his voice betraying the hurt he felt. "There's not much I can offer my son, so I'm not going to take away what he has."

Lucius still sat in silence, even when James had finished. Finally, Lucius stood up and walked over to the fireplace. He stood before the large portrait of his family, Narcissa sitting with Lucius and Draco standing on either side of her.

"I'll do what I can for Harry." He said, his back to James.

"Good." James responded, still seated.

Lucius turned to face him his face still drained of colour and his usual pride.

"What is it Harry needs?" he asked quietly.

James stood up to face the blond man.

"Give him back what _he_ took." James said with a hard look in his eyes. "Give Harry back his lost memories."

Lucius' face gave away his surprise and disbelief. He recovered almost instantly but his voice still shook when he spoke.

"That is impossible, you know that, Potter."

"Maybe not," James argued. "You were there. You were part of _his_ inner circle. Most of Harry's life with Voldemort was probably spent in your company. The memories that Voldemort took from Harry, you were probably a part of them too. Harry was obliviated but you weren't. You can give Harry your memories." James explained.

Lucius' eyes widened and he swallowed reflexively.

"I don't think that is a wise." He started. "Nothing good will come of watching those memories."

"That's not for you to decide." James fought back.

"Potter, trust me. Harry is better off not remembering those…events. He won't feel any better."

James shook his head again.

"Harry wants to know what was taken from him. He's been trying to figure out a way to get back his memories. It's bothering him to the extent that he's taking risks to uncover what was taken from him. Give him your memories and it may bring Harry some sort of peace." James finished.

Lucius opened his mouth to argue but then changed his mind. He sighed deeply as he looked to the ground, thinking deeply about this. Finally he nodded.

"Very well, I will speak to Narcissa. She has many memories of Harry. All of them had been removed from Harry's mind. Both of us will prepare the memories. Give me a few days."

That was all James needed to hear. He nodded once and almost immediately started moving towards the door. His purpose fulfilled, he had no other reason to remain with the man.

xxx

Harry woke up to a series of rapid knocks on his door. He blearily opened his eyes and struggled to pull himself out from his warm, comfortable bed. He quickly crossed the length of his room and opened the door to find the red haired seventeen year old standing before him, Damien standing next to her.

"Oh, sorry, were you still asleep?" Ginny asked with a blush.

"It's okay. What time is it?" Harry asked, stepping aside to let them come inside.

"It's past noon." Damien informed him. "We skipped lunch to come and see you, to make sure you were, you know, okay?"

Harry was horrified.

"It's past noon!? Already?!" he ran a hand through his messy locks. "I can't believe I overslept."

"It's okay. Yesterday was…a big day. A lot happened, you were obviously shattered." Ginny consoled.

Harry could feel a blush forming at her words. He had really acted horridly yesterday. He recoiled in shame at how he had spoke in front of all of them. Ginny picked up on this and gave him a warm smile.

"How are you now?" she asked, sitting on the foot of his bed, Damien sat down next to her.

Harry looked away as he answered.

"Better, I guess."

"Mum and dad will probably want to talk to you later on today." Damien informed him.

Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah, I know."

"Why don't you get changed. We'll grab lunch together. You've not had anything to eat since yesterday." Ginny suggested.

Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah, I was going to go back into the pensieve." He said quietly.

"You should probably eat something first." Damien said.

Harry grabbed his clothes before heading towards the bathroom. Ginny and Damien got up as well, intending on waiting outside for him. Before any of them could leave the room, a small hoot was heard, accompanied by the flapping of wings. Damien turned around to see an owl come swooping into the room from the open window. It sat at Harry's desk, its amber eyes scanning the three occupants of the room. Damien figured it was delivering a letter but he couldn't see anything attached to the owl's leg.

Harry walked over to the owl and held out his arm. The owl hopped onto his arm, its talons gripped tightly around Harry's arm. Damien stared at the bird. It had white and blue feathers, large amber eyes and a small sharp beak. Its smooth feathers glistened in the sunlight; the blue in it was of a shimmering intensity. It was quite a cute little thing. It was gazing at Ginny and Damien, cocking its head to the side.

Harry walked over to Damien and held out his arm with the small owl perched on it. Damien stared at the owl before looking up at Harry. The messy haired boy smiled sheepishly at him.

"Happy Birthday" Harry said tentatively.

Damien looked back at the small owl, hazel eyes wide with surprise. The owl was for him, his birthday gift from Harry.

"I'm sorry. I let her out to go hunting just before the party. I was planning on giving her to you after the party but…" Harry trailed off, looking very embarrassed.

"It's okay. I wasn't expecting anything from you, especially not something like this." Damien said gesturing to the fascinating bird perched on Harry's arm. "This is…wow. You really didn't have to, Harry." Damien said with a smile.

Carefully, Harry guided the bird onto Damien's arm. The owl hopped from Harry to Damien happily, gazing at Damien, her large amber eyes blinking at him. She kept tilting her head to either side, making it look like she was studying Damien.

Damien felt a little awkward holding the bird. His arm was bent and held stiffly with the bird perched on it. He had dealt with owls before, receiving the odd letter from Remus or Sirius during his stay at Hogwarts but he had never held an owl before. But even still, he found he liked the comfortable weight on his arm and the bird was possibly the cutest owl he had seen. Her white and blue feathers gave her an interesting look. He chuckled at the way the owl was studying him. Gently and a little hesitantly, he lifted his hand and with the back of his fingers, he stroked her belly, smiling as she let out an appreciative hoot.

"Her name is Neelam." Harry provided, smiling at the sight of the owl and her owner.

"It's pretty." Damien commented.

"The name or the owl?" Ginny asked, reaching out to stroke the head of the bird.

"Both." Damien beamed. He turned to face Harry. "Thank you, Harry." He said with sincere gratitude.

Harry smiled broadly, relieved Damien liked his present after all.

xxx

"You did what?" Sirius asked, forgetting the half eaten biscuit in his hand.

James sighed before taking a sip from his mug.

"I said I…"

"I heard you the first time!" Sirius snapped. "You went to see Malfoy!? Have you completely lost it?"

James put down his mug, looking at his best friend.

"I knew he was the only one who could help me." James explained.

Sirius' eyes widened and a look of horror passed over his face.

"Oh, prongs, you didn't!" he pleaded.

James shrugged and looked down.

"I had to."

Sirius shook his head.

"You asked Malfoy to help you?" he asked. His upper lip curled with scorn. "I bet that sardonic bastard loved that!" He spat with anger.

James didn't say anything. He lifted his mug and took a sip of hot tea.

"He agreed." James said after a few minutes.

Sirius snorted.

"Yeah, but at what price? Malfoys don't do anything for nothing! He'll demand something from you in return, mark my words!" Sirius seethed.

"I don't care," James responded calmly. "I don't care what he'll ask for. I'll give him everything if he can give Harry his peace."

Sirius stilled and sat staring at James.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, a lot quieter now.

"You didn't see what he looked like when he came out of that pensieve." James responded. "I've never seen him look so…broken." James met Sirius' concerned gaze. "He looked so lost, so…confused. Sirius, I can't see him like that. I want my son back the way he used to be, his attitude, his confidence, I want all that back."

"I thought you liked the changes in him. You said he was opening up to you a lot more, spending time with you and Lily." Sirius said.

"I do, I really love that Harry wants to spend time with me and that he comes to me without being invited first. But he's not opening up to me, if anything I think he's keeping secrets." James ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply. "I know this is bothering him, his obliviated memories. I could see how defeated he was when he came out from his pensieve, after realising the spell he was given never worked. If Malfoy helps him get back even a fraction of his memories, then that will pacify him and he won't feel so lost."

Sirius was silent for a few minutes just observing his friend.

"I hope Malfoy's memories do the trick. I would hate for your efforts to go to waste." He said, meaning every word.

James shrugged again.

"I just want my son to be happy."

--

_**Canon World**_

"I'm not happy!" Harry complained, sitting across from Hermione, wearing a frown.

The bushy haired girl let out a sigh and lowered her parchment.

"It's for your own good." She told him.

"I was doing just fine." Harry shot back.

"I knew something was up with you. If you don't listen to us and change your behaviour, everyone will catch on that you're not really Harry." Hermione explained.

Harry's frown deepened.

"I am Harry!" he hissed.

"You know what I mean." Hermione said, waving her hand.

"But why Longbottom? Can't you choose someone else?" Harry asked a definite whine in his voice.

Hermione looked exasperated.

"I already told you, Harry is good friends with Neville. The way you act with him is bound to get him suspicious. Start being nicer to him, don't ignore him and talk to him." Hermione advised.

Harry huffed and crossed his arms.

"Fine! But like I said, I'm not happy about it!"

Hermione smiled.

"We can work on that."

A knock on the door drew their attention and Hermione crossed the length of the room in a hurry to answer the door. Ron's shock of red hair was clearly visible as Hermione cracked open the door. Hermione opened the door wide and let her friend come inside.

"I thought you two might be in here." Ron said as he walked over to Harry. "I swear this Requirement Room is starting to feel like a secondary common room." Ron laughed.

"I prefer it, much less crowded and a lot quieter." Harry said. Then looking at the two Gryffindors he added, "Well, it used to be anyway."

Hermione ignored the comment and started picking up her loose parchment.

"We should head for breakfast soon." she said.

"I just got here." Ron complained.

"You didn't travel far!" Hermione scolded.

"What time did you two come here?" Ron said as he pulled himself out from his chair.

"Too early, couldn't sleep." Harry said. He was having one of those days that came every two months. The painful withdrawals from his sleeping potion addiction would hit him hard for a few days, usually about three, and he would fall quite ill and found he couldn't sleep very well. Harry was trying his best to seem normal but his body was starting to ache and the headache blooming behind his eyes was going to make him hurl soon.

"I woke up at my normal time but I thought I would come here and study before breakfast. I figured I could use the peace and quiet. I mean I still have that Charms paper to complete and I thought I could cross check my work for Transfiguration with Murdop Gilligan's Guide to …"

"Stop, stop, Hermione. It's too early in the morning." Ron said, throwing his hands up in the air.

Hermione huffed at him a little but didn't finish her explanation.

Harry followed the two out the door and walked slowly down to the Great Hall. He stuck his hands into his robes pockets, hunching his shoulders as shivers wracked through him. He closed his eyes, willing the pain to subside and let him reach the Gryffindor table. He hated how these withdrawals affected him. It always left him feeling so damn weak and ill.

Harry sat down and pulled a plate towards him, willing his empty stomach to stop rolling. He had to eat something, even if it was only a few bites.

After a measly breakfast of a few spoonfuls of porridge, Harry and the two Gryffindors set off for their first class of the day. Before they could walk into their classroom, they saw a large group of students huddled around the Main Hall notice board. Wondering what had been posted on it now, the trio walked over and joined the large group of flustered students.

Harry read the notice silently to himself, sensing the growing anger radiating from the two on his either side.

**Educational Decree Twenty-four**

By Order of the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts;

All student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor, Professor Umbridge.

No student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.

Signed:

Dolores Jane Umbridge

High Inquisitor

Hermione was shaking with suppressed anger.

"I can't believe this!" she seethed, all the way back to their classroom. "She can't do this! She can't get away with doing this!"

Ron was just as red faced as she was.

"She's gaining more and more control with these growing educational decrees!" he spat as he slammed his bag onto his desk. "She's going to take over the whole bloody school if this goes on!"

Harry didn't say anything and sat down in his seat. He wasn't really all that bothered, as long as Umbridge left him alone, he was happy to ignore her too. Hermione looked at him and opened her mouth to say something but then abruptly shut it again. She looked away from Harry, shaking her head as if debating over something in her head.

Harry closed his eyes and rubbed at his eyes, he wished he could go back to his bed. But he couldn't. He would need to go and see Poppy if he wanted to miss classes and that wasn't a good idea. One blood test to see what was wrong with him and Poppy would find out about the addiction.

He opened his eyes with a sigh and almost jumped in shock. Angelina had suddenly appeared and was standing only a few inches away from his face.

"Harry!" she yelled.

"Yes!" Harry responded at once.

"Do you know that, that, that woman, is including Quidditch as part of the decree?" she positively screeched.

"I didn't before but I do now." Harry grumbled as her high pitched voice drove right into his head, worsening his headache.

"We have to get permission, permission! from that woman to reform our house team! How unfair is that!" she groaned.

"Yeah, unfair." Harry agreed, just so the girl would leave.

"I'm going straight to McGonagall about this! It's not on!" Angelina turned and marched out of the door.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione with a confused look.

"Why did she just come in here and yell at me?" he asked.

"She wasn't yelling at you. She was yelling around you." Ron explained.

Harry pulled a face.

"Well, there's to be no yelling anywhere around me and especially at me." Harry groused. "There's only one female who gets away with yelling at me." He added.

Hermione's eyes softened at the comment and she whispered.

"Your mum?"

Harry smiled back at her.

"Actually, I was thinking more about my girlfriend."

Hermione's eyes widened at that and she smiled brightly.

"Really, who is she? Someone we know?"

Harry couldn't help but glance at Ron. He lowered his head and grinned.

"Perhaps" he answered.

xxx

There was no one around. Every student was busy in class, all but one. The blond haired boy pushed past the numerous items before him as he searched. His grey eyes narrowed as he studied the various things before him.

"Come on, it has to be here. Where is it!" he whispered to himself.

He pulled out the invisibility cloak and for a moment his eyes clouded over with greed.

"So it's true, Potter does have one of these." He mused out loud. He folded the cloak over and placed it beside him, intending on taking it with him once he was finished.

He pushed the other items out of the way, muttering curses under his breath.

"Seriously, Potter, cram your pathetic trunk with more junk why don't you!" he hissed.

At last he came across what he was looking for. With a hesitant pause he lifted the piece of parchment and stared at it with large eyes.

"Oh, good God! It's true!" He whispered as he stared at the sketch of the golden compass.

He roughly snapped the trunk closed and pushed it back under the bed. He put the sketch of the golden compass into his robes and grabbed the invisibility cloak in his hands. He stood up and turned around to leave but stopped suddenly at the sight before him.

Green eyes were fixed on him, a calm yet terrifying expression on the handsome face. Draco gulped and took a step back when he saw Harry standing at the door, leaning casually against the frame.

"Well, I know why I'm here. Seeing as this is my dorm but the question is, why are you here?" Harry asked, his voice light and playful.

Draco didn't answer. Harry's eyes fell on the cloak and he looked back up at the fifteen year old Slytherin.

"Tut Tut, Draco, stealing and from a Potter no less. What would your father say?" he taunted.

"I know who you are." Draco whispered.

Harry straightened up and walked further inside. The door closed behind Harry and the loud click told Draco it was now locked.

"Everyone knows who I am." Harry said with a smirk. "What makes you so special?"

"I know who you _really_ are. Where you come from!" Draco said meaningfully. "I know you're not this world's Harry Potter. I know you come from an alternate universe." He smirked at Harry. "I know _everything_ about you."

Harry cocked his head to the side, looking Draco over.

"I sincerely doubt that." He said with an amused grin.

Draco shook his head and pulled out the sketch Harry had painstakingly made to perform the location spell. He held it out in front of Harry.

"I know what this is," Draco said with a smug look. Harry didn't look fazed at all. He had already seen Draco take the sketch out of his trunk. "I was wondering how Potter suddenly developed a spine. And that story about a messed up potion fooled no one!" he smirked at him.

"You're not really one to talk about developing spines, seeing as yours has yet to grow." Harry returned.

Draco's smirk faltered but he forced it to remain.

"Come on, Potter. I'm not your enemy. You could use a friend, especially in a world you don't know anything about." He said slyly.

"I know enough about this world." Harry answered with a shrug.

Draco looked at him, lost as to what to say now. He placed the sketch back in his pocket and met Harry's gaze.

"Fine, if you don't want to have a helping hand then so be it. I can see it doesn't matter which universe you belong to, Potters always end up making the wrong choice and knocking back offers they shouldn't." His grey eyes narrowed at Harry.

"It's what makes us special." Harry answered dryly. "Now, why don't you stop with your nonsense and tell me something useful like, how you got into my room, and how you knew that sketch was going to be here. And Draco," Harry took a step nearer, his green eyes darkening instantly, making Draco gasp in surprise and fear. "Don't hold anything back."

xxx

Harry walked into the Great Hall for lunch, his mood noticeably darker. He sat down next to Ron and Hermione, rubbing at his eyes again.

"Are you okay? Did you go to see Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, concerned for this version of her friend.

Harry nodded his head and then dropped his hands away so he could look at her.

"Yeah, she gave me a vial of pain relief and told me to go back to class." He said.

"But you've been away the whole morning, what happened?" Ron asked.

Harry glanced around, pulling at his collar uncomfortably.

"I wasn't feeling like I could sit through class. I mean, I've done it all before. I've finished with Hogwarts. It's not like I'm missing something important, so I thought I would go back to my dorm, maybe have a little rest." He answered.

Hermione nodded her head.

"That was sensible. I have to say, you frightened the life out of me. When I saw your nosebleed in class, I didn't know what happened to you." She furrowed her brow. "You said this happens to you often? Why is that?"

"It's not important," Harry shook his head. His desire to skip class had been granted when blood started seeping out of his nose, ten minutes into the lecture. Harry had forgotten that happened sometimes during the periods of his withdrawals. He was excused from class and told to go to the hospital wing at once. It was after his brief encounter with the school nurse that he met Draco in his room, stealing his possessions. "I have to tell you something." Harry said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Malfoy knows."

Hermione's eyes widened and she let out a gasp. Ron's reaction was similar.

"What?! How?!" Hermione asked.

"From what he told me, he was suspicious about me ever since I did that spell on him that rendered him unable to speak." Harry rolled his eyes as Hermione and Ron gasped again. "Will you both stop doing that!" he snapped at them. "He said he figured out the truth about me and used an excuse to skip class to come into my room and look for clues."

"He was in our dorm?! How did he get in?" Ron asked.

"He overheard it, thanks to your idiot friend who kept blabbering to everyone that he wouldn't forget the password now as it was the same as his pet plant!" Harry answered.

Hermione and Ron looked over at the oblivious Neville, busy eating his lunch.

"What did he find?" Hermione asked.

"The sketch of the compass I used to come here." Harry answered. "He was planning on stealing it, along with my cloak."

"Harry's cloak." Ron quickly pointed out.

Harry just looked at him.

"Sorry, I don't know why that came out." Ron apologised with a sheepish look. Harry ignored him.

"It's safe. I caught him in the act and took back my things." Harry finished.

"Did you…did you obliviate him?" Hermione whispered.

Harry paused before answering, his fingers tapping the table softly.

"No"

"What? Why the hell not?! He's going to blow your cover!" Ron whispered as quietly as he could.

"I know, but I can't obliviate him." Harry answered, looking at the staff table again.

"Harry I don't understand…" Hermione began.

"Look, if there is one person I can say I know better than myself, it's Draco." Harry said. "He was lying to me. There is no way he came looking for that compass, he couldn't have known about it. He was afraid of me and what I could do to him but he still lied to me. That tells me one thing; he's even more afraid of someone else. I have a pretty good idea of who that someone else is and if I'm right, then that means that Draco is being used to spy on me."

Hermione and Ron had forgotten their food before them and were staring at Harry with scared expressions.

"Harry, are you talking about _him_?" Hermione asked, referring of course to Voldemort.

Harry nodded his head.

"The one and only."

"But then you should obliviate him! He's going to pass on information to…to him!" Ron said in an urgent whisper.

"He doesn't have anything to report. I'm pretty certain _he_ already knows where I came from. He wouldn't have told Draco to look for the compass or something to do with it if he didn't already suspect the truth." Harry said. "As for now, Draco doesn't have anything on me. He doesn't know anymore about me then _he_ already does. Nothing of any real substance has been disclosed and I'm going to keep it that way." Harry said quietly. "If I obliviate Draco it will gain me nothing. It's better for me to have Draco continue this game, let _him_ think he's winning."

Hermione and Ron were both visibly worried.

"Harry, I don't know, this is really dangerous." Hermione said, biting her lip.

"Trust me, Hermione. If there is one thing I know how to deal with, it's _him_." Harry replied.

xxx

The dark room smelled of blood and fire. Droplets of crimson liquid stained the marble floor where a wizard sat with his eyes closed. His snake like face was twisted in concentration. Indecipherable mutterings fell from his mouth as he sat before a golden object.

Long pale fingers touched the surface of the glass dome and the hissed muttering rose in volume. Magic crackled in the air and sizzled as the wizard spoke words and incantations with fury.

Not far away, Nagini sat curled up with her large eyes fixed on her master. She hissed in her serpent tongue along with her master. The echoes of the two mingled together to magnify the sound.

Suddenly the mutterings stopped, crimson eyes flew open at once. Lord Voldemort looked down at the golden compass lying before his sitting form. His lips twitched into a satisfied smile as he saw the hovering, translucent image of another compass directly over the real one. His eyes took in the different settings of the image, noting where the five hands were pointing and what point the two rings were set at.

"Perfect" he hissed in delight as Nagini slithered over to him. He pet her large reptilian head and smiled a terrifying smile.

"_Perfect_"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Let me know what you thought. Cheers!!


	22. Revelations

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

I guess you guys liked that last chapter, huh? Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty Two**

_**AU World**_

Ginny wrinkled her nose and pulled a face.

"She sounds horrible." She commented.

"You don't know the half of it." came the response. "She's going to take over the school soon by the looks of things. That's what your brother thinks anyway."

Ginny rolled onto her back, the phone held to her ear. She was lying on her bed, the drapes pulled around it so she would have her privacy and secrecy to talk to her boyfriend.

"Is Ron a worrier there too?" she asked, a smile on her lips at the mental image of her brother.

"I'm in a different dimension, Ginny, not a different planet." Harry responded. "Of course he's a worrier."

Ginny giggled at that. She listened to Harry's voice, took what comfort she could from it. She missed Harry terribly but was thankful that at least she got to talk to him.

"Any idea if this Umbridge woman exists in this world?" Ginny asked.

"No idea. Probably. Why?" Harry enquired.

"Just thought I could track her down. Give her a good eyeful of my famous Bat-Bogey hex for trying to use a Blood Quill on you." She said, glaring at the ceiling.

Harry laughed, making Ginny's stomach flip over. She loved his laugh.

"I took care of it, don't worry about it. Besides, you didn't even know what a Blood Quill was until I told you." Harry said.

"So? What does that have to do with anything? I know now, don't I?" Ginny asked.

Harry laughed again and Ginny imagined Harry shaking his head slightly the way he did when he was amused. She brought up the mental image of him, looking at her with that glint in his eyes, playful smirk on his lips; God, how she missed him.

"Harry, any idea when you'll be able to get back?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Harry paused before answering.

"Not long, Ginny. I promise."

"I really miss you." Ginny said, her voice dropped to a whisper now. Her brown eyes were still fixed on the ceiling but she was gazing past it. "I can't believe how much it hurts, being away from you."

There was a small pause again before Harry's voice filled her ear.

"I'll come back, soon. I promise." He repeated. "Besides, you're not completely alone. You have _a_ Harry Potter there." Ginny could hear the smirk in the voice. She smirked too, rolling back onto her front.

"Well, if that's the new rule, then…."

"Don't even think about it." Harry playfully growled at her.

Ginny laughed.

"Hey, you started it." she teased.

"If you want to play, we'll play Weasley." Harry's voice was dripping with mischief. "I was just thinking anyway, if I go out with the Ginny here, it can't be termed as cheating really…"

"Harry!" Ginny sat up on her bed. "She's fourteen, you cradle snatcher!"

"The same age you were when we first met." Harry answered.

Ginny paused, her heart leaped in her chest.

"You remember that?" she asked.

"It's hard not to," Harry answered. "Contrary to what you may think, I didn't save a lot of girls from falling to their gruesome death from rooftops."

Ginny smiled.

"You're so romantic, Potter."

"That I am," Harry countered.

"Not that I don't enjoy this fun banter with you, but I really have to go. Damien said I had to return the phone to him within an hour."

"He's putting time limits on you?" Harry asked.

"Not on me, on us. He said we get carried away and talk non stop for hours. Can you believe him?" Ginny asked.

Harry sniggered at that. He quietened down and after a pause he asked.

"How is he, Damien I mean? Is he…okay?" Harry asked, a hint of uncertainty detectable in his voice.

"He's coping, but just barely. But I really do think he's going to develop worry lines that will never fade. He's so worked up at times. I can't remember the last time he smiled, like a proper 'Damy' smile. He's so worried about everything, about you, about Harry, about his mum and dad finding out." Ginny let out a sigh. "I try to calm him down but truth is I'm worried too."

Harry was quiet for a few moments.

"It's not for long, I'll work out a way and I'll be back soon. I'll make it up to him, and to you." Harry answered.

Ginny smiled at that.

"Hmm, I don't know. I'm quite difficult to please." She said playfully.

"I'm sure I'll figure out a way." Harry returned and Ginny could hear the grin in his voice.

xxx

Damien was busy completing his Transfiguration essay when Ginny walked into the Room of Requirement. She tossed the phone over to him and Damien caught it.

"You sure took your sweet time," he said pocketing the mobile phone. "How long was that? About two hours?"

Ginny scowled at him as she sat down.

"Yeah? And? What's your problem?"

Damien shook his head and returned his gaze to the parchment in his lap.

"Nothing, other than the fact that the longer you stay on the phone, the more chance there is that you'll be caught. These things aren't supposed to work in Hogwarts." Damien said tapping his pocket which held the phone.

"I would have stayed here and called him but I knew you would try to eavesdrop." Ginny said.

Damien looked up from his essay and smirked.

"I assure you, I wouldn't have. I have no intentions of losing my lunch by listening to the two of you making romantic talk!"

Ginny made a face at him but didn't respond. She looked around the room and noticed the black pensieve sitting on the table next to Damien.

"He's in there again?" She asked.

Damien looked over at the pensieve and nodded.

"Yeah, he's been in there since this morning. He went in just after he spoke with Ron and Hermione, his Ron and Hermione," he corrected himself. "I think he was feeling a little homesick after talking to his friends on the phone. I asked him what he wanted to do, to take his mind off it but he said he just wanted to see more memories."

Ginny looked at the pensieve and felt her heart constrict. She had never been in Harry's pensieve. She had never seen any of his past memories and she wanted to keep it that way. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing the pain of his past.

"I hope he's okay." She said, biting her lip.

Damien looked over at it as well.

"Yeah, me too."

xxx

Harry had seen a lot of Harry's memories. He saw Harry's capture by the Order, his short stay at 12 Grimmauld Place, which Harry learned was Sirius' home as well as the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He saw Harry at Hogwarts and realised that a lot of memories were not placed in the pensieve since he only really saw Harry's interactions with Damien and very few of his parents. He didn't know why his dad was there with Harry but worked out he must have been sent there as Harry's guard. He realised Harry would not have placed every single memory in the pensieve, only memories that he didn't want anyone finding and ones that caused him grief.

A multitude of emotions ran through him, aside from the influx of emotions he felt from his counterpart, as he watched Harry's time at Hogwarts. He watched in disappointment as his friends, Ron and Hermione, clearly rejected Harry. Ginny's disgust of him hurt more than he had imagined. It surprised him how Harry was treated, especially in his parents' presence. He felt a horrible jolt of hurt and disappointment as Moody hurt Harry with a bracelet of some sort whilst in the Headmaster's office. The Auror stood in the same room as Dumbledore, James and Sirius and none of them stopped him when he triggered the bracelet and caused immense pain to Harry. He could see the effect the bracelet had on Harry, aside from the involuntary influx of emotions from him. Harry didn't know what to feel about his Headmaster at that point. He never imagined the kind and caring Headmaster to allow such an act to be carried out in front of him. He didn't even want to think about his dad and Godfather.

Harry watched in awe as Harry fought a group of vampires, or Daywalkers as they called themselves, in Hogsmeade. He was amazed at how well Harry fought them and how he defended the four standing near the edge of the roof. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Damien looked unhurt but scared as they watched the battle.

The events after the battle made Harry's insides burn with fierce hate. He couldn't believe Moody had attacked Harry like that. An afterthought told him he should have known, the Auror was rumoured to be paranoid and known to curse first, ask questions later. Harry linked the memory to one of Ron's memories. He remembered Ron in the hospital wing telling the Headmaster about the attack and how Harry saved them. So this was why Harry was so injured. It wasn't so much the vampires he had fought but the Auror Moody that had hurt him.

The memories continued and Harry, at last, saw why the two brothers were so close. Damien was the only one who seemed to stick by Harry. Throughout Harry's time at Hogwarts, Damien was always by his side. He had seemingly abandoned his friends and stayed with Harry. Fifteen year old Harry saw how his counterpart spoke to and treated Damien and wondered many times why Damien put up with him. The answer was simple; because they were brothers by blood. Damien's stubbornness paid off and Harry started showing a growing compassion towards him. He started to care for the younger boy and it showed by the genuine, if somewhat rare, smile that crossed his face when Damien was with him.

Harry's joy at seeing his counterpart happy was short-lived when the memory of Harry attacking James came quite suddenly. Harry couldn't watch; he had already been told by Damien what had happened and he had no desire to see for himself how Harry nearly killed his dad. He only allowed the first few moments of the memory to start before he forcefully stopped it. What little he saw was enough to haunt him. He had felt the swell of hate and anger and rage slam into him as soon as the memory had appeared and he knew this was perhaps his counterpart's worst memory. He felt oddly guilty watching this particular memory so he stopped it and skipped to the next one.

From here, things got confusing. Since Harry had not placed all his memories in here, the sequence of events got mixed up. Harry was back with Voldemort, that much Harry could work out. How he got back, he never saw. He thought back to the newspapers he had read and remembered eye witness accounts of Harry taking the hand of Bellatrix Lestrange and disapparating with her.

The next memory he saw was Harry's account of the attack on Hogwarts Express. Harry was not particularly fond of watching this again. But he stopped himself from skipping it. He wanted to see what happened properly this time. The memory he had seen in the Researchers Corner was used at Harry's trial, it had gone blurry at a point. Harry wanted to see what had been taken out of that memory.

Feeling like someone had plunged a knife in his gut, Harry watched as Harry led the Death Eaters to the trapped train and duel fiercely with the few Aurors there. Harry understood the feral attack on Moody now, he almost felt like the Auror deserved it. Almost.

But then came the attack on Sirius and Harry felt bile rise in his throat. He stubbornly watched as the two duelled, Sirius desperately trying to speak to him. He was trying to make him understand something but his counterpart wasn't ready to listen.

Fifteen year old Harry wasn't quite ready for what he saw and cried out when the torture curse fell from Harry's lips and the crucio curse hit Sirius full in the chest. Sirius' screams ripped into him, shredding his resolve to stay calm. He cried out as he saw his Godfather convulse in sheer agony on the ground as Harry calmly held the curse in place.

Suddenly a figure stepped in the way of the curse and before the light of the spell could hit this new figure, Harry diverted the spell, lifting it from Sirius, making the Auror take in huge gasps of air. Harry saw Damien standing in front of Sirius, shielding him. He remembered seeing this part of the memory too and realised that the part that had been removed was Harry's torture of Sirius.

Harry watched as Damien argued, pleaded and begged Harry to leave Sirius alone. Harry told Damien to move away but the boy never budged. All of a sudden, Harry acted and blasted Damien away making the boy fly in the air and land in a heap on the ground. A mere second later a flash of green light hit the spot Damien had been standing at. Fifteen year old Harry had almost forgotten to breathe. Damien had nearly been killed! He let out the breath he wasn't aware of holding and watched as his counterpart, now beyond pissed, walked over to Damien and pulled the boy to his feet.

"I told you to stay inside the train! Damn it, Damien, don't you ever listen!"

Harry watched as Damien was dragged by his brother back to the train. Harry blasted the doors open and pushed the boy inside, locking the doors after him. Damien was banging on the door, his face visible in the window.

"Harry, please! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt Uncle Sirius!" Damien was still yelling desperately.

Harry took no notice of the boy and towered over the Death Eater that had fired the killing curse at Damien. Swiftly and without hesitation, Harry pointed his wand at the man and uttered the killing curse. The two words left Harry's lips and a jet of green light thundered out of his wand and struck the man. The man was dead before his head fell back onto the ground.

Fifteen year old Harry could feel it, the pressure twisting in his chest, the taste of anger on his tongue, the way his heart thumped painfully with rage. He knew it was his counterpart's feelings. He was so mad that Damien had nearly been killed. Even after ending the Death Eater's life, the rage didn't subside. It was still there, making Harry want to kill again, to hurt the man for daring to target Damien.

The memory ended and Harry found himself hurtled through more memories. He saw Harry speaking to a small man with glasses perched on the very end of his small nose. Harry was threatening him, subtly, but still threatening to hand over something, a Layhoo Jisteen?

The memory ended with Harry standing before a cottage with a small, but perfectly kept lawn with various flowerbeds. It reminded Harry a little of his aunts garden at Privet Drive. He suddenly realised where he was, Godric's Hollow.

Stunned Harry watched as the memory Harry sneaked into the house via the window and met Damien. The Layhoo Jisteen, an impressive pendant with a black stone, was handed to Damien with instructions to wear it and never remove it.

The memories continued and Harry watched every one, learning more and more about his counterpart. Suddenly he found himself in a darkened street. Cars were zooming down the road behind him. Harry saw a phone box and saw his counterpart, looking quite ill, making his way over to it. Harry realised he was in the muggle world. He ran after his counterpart wondering what was going on.

The memory Harry entered the phone box and fished out a few coins from his pocket. He picked up the receiver and punched in a number. He waited, a look of pain crossing his features. He slid the coins into the slot when a voice was heard.

"Hello, Potters Residence."

Harry stood silently, the phone gripped in his hand. He opened his mouth to speak but then shut it again.

"Hello? Hello?" the voice was heard from the other end of the phone.

Fifteen year old Harry recognised the voice, the greeting should have given him away straight away. Harry had called James.

Harry gripped onto the phone tightly, he squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly a memory flashed before him, taking fifteen year old Harry with him. A cliff, Harry firing a curse at a bloodied and hurt James, James falling over the edge of the cliff, disappearing from view.

Harry opened his eyes, ending the flash of memory. He blinked furiously, gripping the receiver so tight his knuckles had turned white.

"Hello?" James' voice sounded again.

Harry closed his eyes again and uttered the singe word.

"Dad"

Fifteen year old Harry knew this was the first time Harry had called James, dad. He felt sudden warmth fill him as he watched Harry talk to his dad, no bitterness, no hate, no anger in him. He was apologising for hurting him, apologising for not believing him, for not trusting him.

Fifteen year old Harry let out a shaky breath at the sight. So Harry had finally learnt the truth. Harry had hoped to see how that had happened but it seemed that memory had not been placed in here. Maybe Harry wanted to remember it, to always remember how he found out the truth about his past and his parents.

Harry left the pensieve after the memory of the phone call. He suddenly had the strongest desire to be with his parents.

xxx

Over the next few days, Harry gradually stopped going into the pensieve. He found that not a lot of memories were stored in it after Harry left Voldemort. It seemed Harry had not bothered with placing memories in there or that he didn't have access to the pensieve. Damien informed him that Draco had taken the ring; Harry gave it to him to keep their meetings a secret, since no one could know Draco knew where Harry was, what with the entire wizarding world out looking for him.

Harry had no desire to see anymore of Harry's past memories. The only one he went back to see was what happened to Neville's parents. That led to a few memories of 'Alex' and Harry found his head spin with confusion.

'Just when I thought I had him figured out.' He muttered to himself.

By the end of the third day, Harry returned the ring to Damien, who pocketed it straight away.

"Do you want to talk to him? He was asking about you, again." Damien told him.

Harry shuffled his feet, looking uncomfortable.

"I don't really know what to say to him." Harry responded.

"Okay that's fine. I mean, you don't have to, Harry just thought maybe you would have questions or…" Damien trailed off.

Harry shook his head.

"I don't have any questions, not anymore."

Damien was about to ask him something when there was a knock on the door before it opened and James peeked around it.

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure, dad" Harry answered, smiling brightly.

James walked into Harry's living quarter and smiled at the sight of his younger son.

"Hey, Damy! I haven't seen you in ages, well, except for classes, and meal times, and in the corridors sometimes…" he trailed off before smiling at him again. "So, how have you been?"

Damien gave his dad a strange look but the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile nonetheless.

"Fine" he answered.

James turned to Harry, his eyes raked over his face, searching for signs that would tell him if he had still been stressing over his lost memories or not. He smiled, seeing an improvement in him.

"How have you been, Harry?" he still asked.

"I'm fine, dad." Harry answered with his usual smile.

"Well, I was wondering, seeing that it's a Saturday and the weather is actually not too bad, if you boys wanted a game, or two." James asked.

Harry and Damien shared twin grins, Quidditch sounded great right about now.

"Yeah, that would be good." Harry replied.

"Great, get your brooms and lets get going!" James said, already heading out of the room.

"Enthusiastic to get beaten, are you?" Damien teased his dad's retreating form.

James stopped and turned around to face his youngest.

"I'm sorry, but is that the lost-for-the-seventeenth-time-but-will-still-challenge-others talking?" James asked.

Damien pulled a face.

"I've lost eighteen times!" he corrected loudly. Then seeing the looks Harry and James gave him he added, "I don't know why that's important."

James laughed, making both boys chuckle with him.

"Come on; let's go before Lily finds me." James prompted.

"Why? Doesn't mum know where you are?" Harry asked as he grabbed his Quidditch supplies.

"No, she thinks I'm marking papers, which I should really get to at some point." James answered, looking a little guilty at neglecting his work.

"Yeah, let's go, if mum finds me she'll ban me from playing and demand I get all my homework done first." Damien said, hurrying towards the door as well.

James opened the door and let Damien pass him. He turned to call to Harry.

"Harry, you com…" his words were drowned out by a sudden cry of pain. Damien turned around and saw Harry's hand shooting to his forehead, face contorted with pain.

"Harry!" James yelled as he dashed towards him, Damien not far behind him.

A few strides and James had reached Harry. He grabbed a hold of him just in time before the boy's legs gave out and he sagged in James' arms.

"Harry! Harry!" James was repeating in panicked concern.

Harry was crying out in agonising pain. His fingers dug into his forehead, eyes scrunched tightly shut as the pain built to an unbearable level. Never before did his scar hurt with such ferocity.

Harry wasn't aware of his dad crying out his name or of Damien's frantic cries. The pain had clouded over his mind and it was all he could focus on.

James had lowered Harry to the ground and was sitting on his knees with his son gathered in his arms. His heart clenched painfully to see Harry in tremendous pain. His eyes were fixed to the boy's face, watching for the first signs of blood. He remembered only too well how Harry's scar had burst open once. His nose would bleed sometimes too.

Harry let out another sharp cry of pain before his body finally gave up and he went limp in James' grasp. He had fallen unconscious.

James looked at Damien with growing panic and concern. The boy shared the same expression. Without a word spoken, James lifted Harry up in his arms and headed for the infirmary, Damien right behind him. James rushed to see Poppy, to see if she could somehow figure out what was happening to his son. In his panic and worry, he failed to register how light his eighteen year old felt in his arms.

xxx

Blue eyes scanned the scene before them, taking in the chaos with eerie calmness. He was standing near the front doors, his line of vision just catching the glow of the lights as the spells fell on the two figures on the ground. Again and again the Healers yelled out the incantations and waved their wands over the two bodies.

He smiled. There wouldn't be anything they could do for them now; he had made sure of that. He walked away, his steps falling lightly on the ground. He walked along his path, ignoring the ashen faced teenager that was outside, arguing with the Aurors that had appeared. The boy wanted to go back inside, but the men wouldn't let him.

'Silly' the man thought to himself. 'They should let him go inside, there's not much he could do to help them anyway.'

"Ferguson!"

The shout stopped him. He turned around to spot one of the Aurors calling out to him.

"Yes?" the man returned calmly.

"Ferguson, where are you off to?" the fellow Auror asked.

A smile formed on Ferguson's face.

"I thought I would go back to the Ministry. Relay back what the progress is so far." He answered.

"Good thinking, Auror Ferguson." The man smiled back. "Keeping in the Minister's good books, huh?"

Ferguson didn't answer and instead turned away and continued walking away. He apparated away with a soft pop but instead of appearing outside the Ministry, he appeared in a quiet alleyway, just a short distance from Knockturn Alley.

Ferguson didn't even bother looking around to make sure no one was watching him. He already knew no one would be around. Not a lot of people dared to venture this far.

His hand slipped into his pocket and he fingered the two elongated tubes, holding what he came for. With a twisted smirk on his face, his hand reached further into his pocket and he pulled out the golden compass. He blue eyes glowed red, moments before he clicked the rings into place and a flash of golden light engulfed him. He disappeared along with the golden compass, back to his world.

xxx

Lily and James sat next to Harry's still form. They watched as Poppy waved her wand over the prone form, muttering all sorts of assessment curses, trying to ascertain why the dormant curse scar was acting up.

She finally sat down, her hand reaching out to grasp onto Harry's. She looked at James and Lily with a defeated look.

"I'm sorry, I can't figure out why this is happening to him. From all the tests I've run, nothing has confirmed why his scar is hurting." She paused, her hand clutched to Harry's tighter and when she spoke, her voice was strained and laced with fear. "It…it seems to suggest that his scar, it's no longer….dormant."

James and Lily both sat up straighter, staring at Poppy with something akin to horror.

"But that is impossible," Poppy quickly said. "He's gone, we know that for certain. Harry's scar hurting is not enough proof to suggest otherwise."

James looked to Lily, his hand reaching out to grab a hold of hers. Slowly he looked back at Harry and then up at Poppy.

"What other reasons can there be for his scar to hurt then?" James asked, his voice surprisingly strong.

"I don't know, James. I really don't. Curse scars are very rare. There's not much written about them and hardly any study is carried out." Poppy said with regret.

James let out an irritated sigh. He hated this, hated the helplessness he felt at not being able to help his son, hated the frustration he felt at not knowing why his son was falling ill.

Before he could speak, he heard the doors open behind him. He turned around to see Damien at the doors.

"Damy, I told you. Go back to…" James' words died in his throat at seeing a figure walk from behind his fifteen year old. "Remus?"

The werewolf hurried inside, his concerned gaze on the boy lying on the bed.

"James, Lily, How's Harry?" he asked hurriedly.

"He's…still unconscious." James answered. "What are you doing here? You said you were working this weekend?" James asked.

Remus turned troubled eyes to him.

"I was working. Actually, I'm still on duty. I tried fire calling you but there was no answer. I came here and found Damien in your quarters. He told me Harry collapsed." Remus sent another worried glance at Harry. "What happened to him?"

"It's his scar, it's hurting…again." Lily told him in a shaky voice.

Remus was speechless. He stared at Harry again, fear clearly visible in his eyes.

"You said you fire called me? Why did you want to speak to me while on duty?" James asked, bringing his friend's attention back to him.

Remus looked at James and swallowed, taking a moment to collect himself.

"James, I…" he looked at Poppy uncomfortably, who seemed to take the hint. She quickly grabbed a vial and made her way to her office.

"I'll just get a start on these tests." She said before disappearing into her room.

"Remus? What's the matter?" Lily asked.

"I'm afraid I bring more bad news," Remus started.

James' heart dropped.

"Bad news? Moony, what happened?" he asked.

"Draco Malfoy…" Remus started with a sigh.

Both Lily and James almost jumped with fear.

"Draco?! What about him? What's happened to him?!" Lily asked.

James prayed hard that nothing ill had befallen the boy, he didn't think Harry could take it if anything happened to his friend.

"Nothing happened to him, he's okay. It's…it's…his parents." said Remus.

"Narcissa and Lucius." Lily said with a gasp.

Damien was still in the room and could feel the cold knot of fear form in his stomach. If something fatal had happened to Narcissa and Lucius while his brother was trapped in that other world, then…he didn't even want to imagine his brother's reaction.

"Draco Malfoy contacted the emergency services saying he walked in to find his parents…injured." Remus took a breath to calm himself. "The Healers took over and contacted the Ministry to report the case and Sirius, Sirius found out. He rushed to the hospital to see Narcissa but he wasn't allowed to see her. She's in too bad a shape. So he asked me to accompany him to the Manor and check out the crime scene."

"What did you find?" James asked, years of his Auror role taking over him.

"Nothing, that's just it. No sign of a struggle, nothing stolen, nothing out of the ordinary. The wards were not compromised, the security was not breached, nothing to suggest any sort of foul play." Remus answered.

"How is that possible?" Lily asked.

"We don't know. But Lily, both Narcissa and Lucius were left for dead. Healers are still working to save their lives." Remus told her.

James knew that recently Sirius and Narcissa had grown closer to each other. Ever since she left Lucius and joined the Order, Sirius had taken it upon himself to make up for the years of lost time. He worried how his friend would cope if something happened to Narcissa.

"How is Sirius?" James voiced his concern.

"He's the reason I came here." Remus said. "I thought you could talk to him. He's not left the hospital ever since coming back from Malfoy Manor. He's terrified of losing Narcissa. Draco is still there as well and the boy has no one other than Sirius." Remus glanced at Harry again. "I came thinking maybe Harry could talk with Draco, but…" he trailed off, looking sadly at the still unconscious boy.

James shared a glance with Lily before looking back at Harry.

"Go, James. Sirius needs you right now. Harry doesn't even know you're with him. In any case, I'll still be here, with him." Lily said in a soft, comforting voice.

James smiled, a tired, sad smile and kissed Lily's forehead.

"I'll be back soon." he whispered to her.

"Uncle Moony?" Damien finally spoke. "What will happen to Lucius Malfoy? I mean wasn't he still in hiding?"

James didn't want to answer that question. Lucius Malfoy's fate was sealed.

"Yes, Damy, he was still in hiding." Remus answered heavily. If Lucius survives this attack, he'll wake up in Azkaban."

xxx

James returned back to Hogwarts a good six hours later. He felt awful for Sirius. His friend had at last been allowed to meet his cousin only to find her in an awful condition. Her blonde hair had streaks of white in it from her trauma. She was still unconscious and although the Healers said she would survive, they couldn't guarantee her mind would be unaffected.

They couldn't tell what had actually happened to her and her husband. All they said was that their physical injuries suggested the repeated use of the Crucio curse and something else that nearly ripped their very magical core out of them. It was disturbing to say the least. Lucius was in the same condition as Narcissa.

James felt sorry for their son, Draco looked so lost and confused. Less than half a year ago he had been in hospital fighting for his life and now it was his parents' turn. James shook the thoughts away from him as he made his way back to the hospital wing. He wasn't looking forward to telling Harry what had happened to the Malfoys. He hoped that Harry was at least awake though. He was worried sick about Harry.

He opened the door and walked inside to find the infirmary empty. James glanced around; making sure Harry wasn't just moved to another bed or something. But all the beds were empty. Turning to leave, thankful that at least this meant Harry was awake and up and about, he was just about to walk out when a voice stopped him.

"James?"

He turned around to find Poppy standing next to her office door.

"Hi, Poppy. I just got back. I thought Harry was still he-" he stopped when Poppy suddenly dashed towards him, her face contorted with worry and, strange as it was, fear.

"James, come inside! I need to talk to you! It's urgent." She whispered, pulling him further into the room.

"Okay, Poppy, Okay. What's the matter? You're scaring me." James said honestly.

Poppy didn't answer and rushed James into her office. Only once both were inside, did she turn to speak to him.

"James, I've been waiting for you to get back for hours! I need to tell you something!" she said in a panicked voice.

"Merlin! What's the matter, Poppy?" James asked, feeling fear twist his insides. He could tell this had something to do with Harry.

He was right.

"James, I carried out a few tests today, trying to see if I could get some answers to why Harry's scar was hurting. Most of them came back with nothing." She said quickly, wringing her hands. "I took a small blood sample from him for more thorough tests and…and James, I found something that doesn't make any sense."

"What? What did you find?" James asked.

"James, Harry's test results show no traces whatsoever of his addiction."

James didn't react straight away. The words he heard were not something he was expecting and he let out a breath of relief.

"That's it? God, Poppy. You had me really worried! That's a good thing. Harry's addiction is cured, that's fantastic news. Why are you so freaked out?" James asked.

Poppy shook her head.

"No, James, you don't understand. There is no way Harry's addiction could have been cured this fast. It's not possible!" She explained.

"A lot of the things Harry does are not possible but he manages them nonetheless." James answered, a smile on his lips. "He always says he's a fast healer. His addiction must have been cured a lot faster than normal because of Harry's powers."

Poppy shook her head again growing frustrated.

"You're not understanding me. There is no way, absolute no way, he could have recovered this fast. Sleeping potion addiction is the worst kind of potion addiction. It takes over everything. I carried out a test less than six months ago on him and he was showing signs of improvement but he was nowhere near cured. The result I got today shows _no_ traces of the addiction! As if he never _had_ an addiction to start with. Harry's blood test could never show this result. Even when Harry recovered completely, his blood test would always show minute traces of the addiction. It never leaves your system completely."

Realisation dawned on James and he understood what Poppy was trying to say. He felt like something was suddenly squeezing his heart, making his chest ache and constrict his breathing.

"What are you trying to say?" he found himself asking.

"I…I don't really know." the flustered woman responded. "I wanted to get another sample of blood from him, to carry out further tests but by then he was awake and reacted badly to my request for a blood sample."

"He wouldn't give you a blood sample?" James asked, growing even more paranoid now.

"No, he refused, said he was feeling ill and wasn't up to it, even though I offered him a Blood Replenishing potion. Lily got annoyed with me for insisting and took him away, back to your living quarters. I've been waiting for you to turn up since then." Poppy finished.

James didn't know what to say to that. He looked at the woman and noticed that she was trembling.

"Poppy, sit down. You don't look so good." James said, guiding her to her seat.

"There's…more." She said and this time she looked like she could start crying soon.

"What?" James asked, kneeling next to the woman.

"As he was leaving with Lily and Damien, I…I did a spell. I wanted to put a disturbing thought to rest," She explained. "I, I cast the Sadore charm." She looked up at James, her eyes showing her fear. "James, I didn't see him." she whispered.

James knew how the Sadore charm worked. It allowed the caster to see only those they trust or share a connection with in the room. Even the most complex of glamours couldn't fool the charm.

James knew that Poppy and Harry shared a close relationship. Harry had saved Poppy's children, Poppy had healed Harry numerous times. They were very close James was certain they trusted one another. The fact that Poppy didn't see him when under the charm was very worrying.

"Poppy, have you ever done this charm with Harry? Do you know for certain that you would have seen Harry?" James asked.

Poppy gave him a withering look.

"I'm most certain I would see him! I trust Harry, I know him very well." She calmed a little before continuing, "But I've never tried the spell with him, I've never had any reason too. But I can assure you I would have seen Harry, most definitely."

James stood up suddenly.

"So what are you trying to say?! Just come out and say it!" he yelled.

Poppy replied, still seated.

"I'm trying to say that I think that boy is not Harry."

xxx

James walked into his living quarters and was greeted by the sight of Lily and Damien sitting and talking happily to Harry, who James noticed looked paler and worn out. He was sitting on James' couch, his legs spread out, hands tucked under his head as he laughed with Lily over something she had said.

James closed the door behind him and noted how Harry shifted at the sight of him.

"James! You're back!" Lily greeted, getting up. "What did you find out? Is Narcissa okay? How was Sirius holding up?"

James didn't answer right away. He was staring at Harry and was finding it difficult to speak. He forced the words out of his mouth at last.

"Okay, they're okay."

Lily looked at James oddly.

"That's all you're going to say? They're _okay_! James what happened? Is everything alright?" Lily asked.

James walked over where Harry was lying, ignoring Lily and her questions.

"How are you feeling?" James asked.

Harry sat up at once, offering a weak smile.

"I'm fine. I don't know what happened." He replied.

Damien was sitting on the other sofa and was watching his dad closely, sensing the rising danger.

"Dad?" he questioned but James didn't as much as look at him.

He turned and walked towards his desk, opening the drawers and looking around for something.

"James? Is everything okay? Did…did Narcissa…?"

"No, Lily. She's fine. Both Narcissa and Lucius are recovering. They're going to be fine." James managed to say, all the while rummaging through his things.

"What are you looking for?" Lily asked stepping nearer to him.

James didn't answer but straightened up, something small clutched in his hand.

"Lily, take Damien and go to your quarters. I need to speak with Harry, alone."

The panic on Harry was clearly noticed by all of them.

"What's wrong, dad? Why do you need to speak with me?" Harry asked, sitting up completely now.

"James, what's going on?" Lily asked, truly worried now.

Damien got up from his seat and crossed the room to be with Harry.

"Dad? What's going on?" Damien questioned as well.

James finally looked over at Lily.

"I just need privacy to speak to Harry. Just for a few minutes." He offered.

Lily didn't look convinced or very happy but she nodded her head.

"Damy, come on. Give your dad a few minutes." She gestured towards the door.

Damien refused to budge.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said at once. "Whatever you need to say to Harry, you can say in front of me."

"Damien, go, now!" James ordered.

"No, I'm staying." Damien stubbornly argued. He could feel it, the sense of foreboding, like a disaster was about to strike.

James didn't argue anymore. He looked at Harry and felt his insides twist with apprehension. He was so confused. On one hand he had no doubt that the boy was his son. He could _feel_ it, like some sort of unknown detector was giving him all the right signs and he couldn't help but feel foolish for even _thinking_ that the boy wasn't Harry.

On the other hand, other signs were making imaginary alarm bells ring in his head. How many times had he said the actual words, 'Harry's acting different, Harry's acting strange' in the last few months? His behaviour has been unexplainably bizarre, ranging from being strangely submissive to an emotional wreck. James still remembered the way his heart had broke at seeing Harry cry in Dumbledore's office. And now what Poppy had told him, about the blood test and the Sadore charm result, that had no explanation at all.

Everything that had raised questions in the past few months suddenly came to James; Harry's agreement to come to Hogwarts, despite the numerous heated debates they had previously, his odd behaviour with Ginny and even Damien, his increased time spent with James and Lily, the way he talked about the Ministry and his comments about James returning to his job as an Auror, the researching of his past, his pensieve memories, his way of talking, his behaviour with them, his smile, his cooking them breakfast, everything suddenly hit James and he felt overwhelmed with it all.

"Dad?"

James looked at the boy sitting, staring at him with his green eyes, an expression of worry and concern in them. James sat down next to him, keeping his emotions tightly in control.

"Do you know what a Revealogem is, Harry?" James asked quietly.

Harry looked lost. He looked at Damien before looking back at James.

"No" he answered with a small shake of his head.

James opened his fist and showed a small crystal sitting in the palm of his hand. It was green in colour and as big as a muggle ten pence piece. Harry stared at it, confused.

"Do you know what a Revealogem does?" James asked just as quietly.

Again Harry shook his head.

Without waiting any longer, James reacted. He threw the crystal with force towards Harry. The raven haired boy backed away on instinct and surprise.

"James!" Lily yelled as the small crystal hit an invisible force shielding Harry and suddenly a green coloured mist surrounded Harry, blocking him from sight. Harry let out a yelp of surprise and quickly darted off the sofa.

Harry coughed and waved his hands around, trying to get rid of the green mist that was obscuring his vision. When the mist finally thinned and cleared away Harry found himself facing the end of James' wand.

Before he could say or do anything, James bellowed,

"Finite Incantateum!"

The spell hit Harry before he had a chance to move out of the way.

Damien had forgotten how to breathe. He stood watching, waiting for the glamour to vanish and for the appearance to change. But miraculously, nothing happened. The spell didn't lift the glamour, Harry stood looking the exact same as he did before.

'The spell isn't strong enough to uncover Harry's glamour charms!' Damien realised.

His joy was short lived though as James was still pointing his wand at Harry and he looked like he was one step away from blasting him apart.

"Who are you?!" James asked, his wand held threateningly before him. His hazel eyes had rage swimming in them, as well as intense worry. "Where's my son?!" he asked.

Lily was staring at the sight with an open mouth, shock rendering her unable to speak.

"Dad, what are you doing? This _is_ Harry!" Damien spoke up, trying still to reign in the disastrous turn of events.

James only gestured for him to move away from Harry.

"The Revealogem is used to reveal any glamour spells, no matter how complex. The mist you saw only appears wherever a glamour charm has been used." He looked at the silent form of Harry again, hate burning in his eyes. "He has a glamour charm covering him from head to foot!" he spat.

Harry was silent; his eyes were fixed to James' face, taking in the look of pure unadulterated hate. He felt a shiver run through him.

"No…dad, come on! This is Harry! You did the spell, you saw nothing changed! He still looks the same. That's because he is Harry. Your Revealogem must be faulty." Damien still fought back.

Lily was behind James but she moved forward a step at Damien's word. She looked completely confused.

"James?"

James didn't turn to look at her. His eyes were fixed on the 'impostor'.

"Poppy did a blood test, Lily. He was unconscious when she took the sample. It came up with no traces of the addiction. This isn't Harry!" James spat, his wand shaking in his hand.

Harry and Damien shared a panicked look. Harry dropped his head in defeat, a look of heartbreak on his face. Damien was still trying to think of something, anything that would keep this secret concealed.

"But…dad….I…you can't…" Damien couldn't think of anything he could say, he couldn't think clear enough.

"Dad…" Harry started in a small voice.

Before anyone could say anymore, James reacted again.

"Finite Veilpassan!" James said using a stronger charm to remove the glamour.

"Dad!" Damien cried out as he saw the spell hit Harry and this time the charm worked and the appearance of the boy started to change.

James and Lily stood shell shocked as the boy before them started to shrink a few inches. His hair became shorter but was just as messy. Identical emerald green eyes stared back at them only this time they stared out from a face that was thinner and paler. The robes that he was wearing hung on the skinny frame and he was suddenly squinting, as if he couldn't see properly.

"Oh my God!" Lily whispered as she stared at a young boy, a young Harry.

James still had his wand pointed at the boy but it was because he had forgotten to lower it. His hazel eyes were wide and fixed on the boy smiling sadly back at them.

"Hi dad." Harry said in a quiet voice.

--

_**Canon World**_

The clink of metal hitting porcelain plates rang throughout the Great Hall. The chatter that usually filled the hall at Breakfast was louder than usual today. Harry sat with Ron and Hermione, eating his breakfast, yearning for peace and quiet.

The flock of owls flew in over heard and the hoots added to the general noise. Harry scowled at the racket.

"Can't they deliver the mail quietly?" he asked no one in particular.

Ron grinned through his mouthful of toast. He and Hermione were in a joyful mood today, as they had finally spoken to their Harry early this morning. Hearing his voice and talking to him, for nearly an hour, had reinforced the truth of the dimension swap. Both, Ron and Hermione couldn't stop smiling since the phone call.

"In a mood today, Harry?" Hermione asked with a cheeky smile as he poured herself more pumpkin juice.

Harry stabbed at his leftover bacon.

"You could say that." He answered. His conversation with Ginny earlier had left him feeling very homesick, though he would never admit to it.

"Well, you can't complain, since you've just got mail." Ron pointed out, just as the snowy white owl landed gracefully in front of Harry.

A few girls let out noises of adoration at the sight of the owl, cooing and sighing. Harry gave them an annoyed look before ignoring them.

"It's about time. What, did you take a detour?" Harry asked the owl as he untied the letter from her leg.

The snowy owl hooted in what could only be described as an indignant way and hopped over to take a drink from Harry's goblet. Harry watched with disgust as Hedwig drank his water.

"I can't drink that now." Harry said, pushing the goblet away from himself once the owl was finished.

Hedwig had enough and hooted once more at him before taking off. Before she left she clipped Harry on the head with her leg, her talons just narrowly missing his forehead.

"Bloody bird!" Harry hissed, rubbing his head.

He looked up to find both Ron and Hermione stifling their laughs.

"Bird trouble?" Ron asked, highly amused.

Harry only gave him a glare before turning to his letter.

"Who did you write to?" Hermione asked, never one to hold back her curiosity.

"Snuffles," Harry answered, not looking up from his letter. "I finally read that letter he sent me. I realised he was waiting for an answer so I wrote back, blaming the lateness of the reply on school, especially Umbridge."

"Is that his reply now?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up, folding the letter and putting it into his pocket.

"Yeah," after a moment or two, Harry continued. "He said he's going to meet me, _same time, same place_." He smiled wryly at them. "Any guesses?"

xxx

It was almost midnight before Sirius made his appearance in the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. Ron remembered last year when he had fallen out with Harry and had walked in to find him in the common room, next to the fireplace. He guessed Harry had been talking to Sirius in the fire but he had never asked Harry whether that was the case or not. But Ron told Harry anyway that he thought Sirius was going to appear in the fireplace around midnight and was very glad when his theory was proved.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all sat around the fireplace, smiling at the image of Sirius as he gazed back at all of them.

"Hello, Harry, Hermione, Ron, how are you?" the dark haired man greeted.

"Hey, Sirius." They chorused together. There was no fear of saying his name now; Harry had already placed privacy spells around the common room.

"How have you been?" Harry asked, feeling his heart constrict painfully again at the sight of the man. He barely resembled the Sirius Harry had left behind in his world.

"Can't complain," Sirius shrugged. "Well, I can, but I won't." he laughed. His darkened eyes raked over Harry, searching him. "I see your potion effects still haven't worn off." He remarked.

Harry smiled back at his Godfather.

"It was a strong one."

Sirius laughed again.

"Indeed"

"How is everything with the Order, Sirius? Any progress finding out what…what _he_ is after?" Ron asked.

Sirius sighed and shook his head.

"No, not yet." He answered honestly. He looked over at Harry again, concern showing in his hollowed face. "But I don't want to talk about that just yet. I made this fire call today to see how you were, and to talk to you about Umbridge."

Harry looked surprised.

"Umbridge? Why?" he asked.

"Harry, I know what you said in your letter you're not bothered by her but that's the thing. I think you should be bothered by her and what she's doing." Sirius replied.

Harry shared a look with the other two. He turned back to Sirius.

"Why?" he asked.

"I know Dolores Umbridge," Sirius started. "She's a nasty piece of work if there ever was one! She's very close to Minister Fudge and can seemingly get him to agree with her over almost anything. She's the one who passed the legislation that made it near enough impossible for Remus to get any work!"

"She did? But why? What does she have against Remus?" Hermione asked.

Sirius' lips curled into an expression of disgust.

"She doesn't have anything against _Remus_. She has issues against _Werewolves_, and not just them, anyone and anything she terms as a 'half breed'." The last words came out with a hiss to show Sirius' disgust for the term. "I don't think it's an accident she's at Hogwarts this year, teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. She's there as a spy for Fudge, that much we know for certain."

"A spy? For the Minister? But why is the Minister spying on Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

Sirius looked straight at Harry.

"Because of you." He answered. Harry looked a little taken aback but he recovered instantly. "It's because of what you claim happened to Diggory. Fudge wants an eye kept on you and on Dumbledore. He thinks both of you are working together to get him thrown out of office." Sirius explained.

"What!? Is he bonkers? Why would Harry and Professor Dumbledore want to do that?!" Ron asked.

"It's what he thinks for the longest of time." Sirius replied. "He's afraid Dumbledore wants his position as Minister for Magic. It's no secret Dumbledore was voted to be the new Minister for Magic. It was his own decision to not take up the position that then led to Fudge being appointed. Fudge now thinks, Dumbledore is up to dirty tricks to get the position from him. Having a student murdered, claiming You-Know-Who's back, using Harry to back up his story, he thinks all of that is just Dumbledore trying overthrow him."

Hermione had her brow furrowed and was deep in thought, working out what Sirius had said and was mentally backing it up with the last few month's events. She looked convinced.

"That's why she's been made High Inquisitor. So she has access to Professor Dumbledore's staff and she can report back if they are on his side or the Minister's."

Sirius inclined his head.

"Exactly"

"It's no wonder the old toad can't teach. She's probably a rubbish spy too." Ron commented.

"Regardless of whether she is a good spy or not, it would be beneficial to keep out of her radar." Sirius fixed Harry with another look. "There's a rumour floating around that you played a prank on her, something including the words 'pain in the ass' being carved into her forehead." The corners of his lips twitched but he resisted the urge to smile. "Anything you want to confess, Prongslet?" Sirius asked, finally allowing the smile to force its way out.

Harry smiled at the nickname.

"A spell as complicated as that? Do you really think I could do something like that?" Harry asked.

Hermione and Ron both shifted uncomfortably but Harry remained where he was.

Sirius shook his head and sighed.

"Ah, well, I could always pretend it was you." Sirius half joked.

Harry found his smile deepening.

"So, what are you saying? All of us should stay out of her way and let her continue this insane mission to ruin Hogwarts? That we shouldn't fight against her absurd teaching method?" Hermione asked, working herself up. "Somehow, I thought you wouldn't encourage us to sit quietly." She added.

Sirius smiled again, a glint appearing in his eyes.

"Hermione, I said to stay out of her radar. I didn't say anything about not fighting against her and I would never tell anyone to sit quietly." He said.

"So, you are saying…" Ron asked slowly.

"That you all should fight against her but do it so she can't tell it's you. Fight her from within not from the forefront." Sirius explained.

Hermione gave a sideway look at Harry before licking her lips nervously.

"Well, I…I did have this idea," she started, giving quick glances at Harry. Ron suddenly looked very nervous.

"Hermione!" he whispered worriedly.

She ignored him.

"I…I was thinking that, since she's not teaching us anything, maybe…maybe we could, um, we should…do it ourselves."

Harry gave her a glare to shut her up but it didn't work.

"What do you mean? Study Defence in between other classes?" Sirius asked.

"Not exactly." Hermione replied, opting not to look at Harry anymore because his glares were frightening her. "I thought we could form a group, like a club and we could learn from, from, um, Harry." She finished meekly, gulping a little.

Sirius turned to stare at Harry, approval could be seen in every inch of his face.

"A secret rebel group right under her nose. Damn, Harry, you're good!" he laughed.

"Sirius, listen…" Harry started, deciding to stop him before he got too excited.

"That's perfect, that's what Fudge is terrified of; that Dumbledore is training the students to go against the Ministry. That would be such a punch in the gut!" Sirius continued with a laugh of glee.

"Sirius, wait a minute and just listen…" Harry tried again.

Sirius cocked his head to the side and studied Harry.

"You know, you're more like James than I first thought." He said with a bittersweet smile.

Harry stilled and just stared at Sirius, his argument already forgotten.

"What?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"He would have done something like that too," Sirius continued, a haunted look appearing in his eyes. "James would never settle to follow the likes of Umbridge. I can imagine him forming a rebel group, teaching what he knew to others." He gave Harry another smile, this one made Harry's heart leap uncomfortably in his chest. "Like they say; like father, like son." he added quietly, blue eyes gazing lovingly at him.

Harry found all he could was nod his head. He had never been told he was just like James before. He looked like James, that was always picked up on. Everyone had always pointed out he looked like his dad but had his mum's eyes. But never before did someone say he was _like_ James.

Sirius left with parting words of, "Stay out of her way but hit her where it hurts!" and disappeared with a pop.

The three stayed on the rug before the dying fire for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I just wanted to see what Sirius thought about the Defence group. I wasn't trying to undermine your decision or anything like that, I swear." Hermione defended, thinking Harry was quiet because he was mad.

Harry didn't respond. He slowly rose to his feet, his mind still playing back his conversation with Sirius, his Godfather's words ringing in his head. '_Anything you want to confess, Prongslet…you're more like James than I first thought… he would have done something like that too… like father, like son._'

The words kept spinning in his head, even as he lay in his bed. Harry fell asleep with a contented smile on his face.

xxx

History of Magic was the dullest class Harry had ever attended. He sat at his desk, wondering if the ghost Professor would honestly be able to tell if his classroom was empty. He looked sideways at Hermione as she continued to take down her notes. Ron next to her was falling asleep, his head lolling every few seconds before he snapped awake again.

Hermione gave Ron a prod with her finger making him shoot awake. He mumbled something before staring into space again, eyes drooping shut. Hermione huffed and her eyes caught sight of Harry, looking at them. She gave him a smile, gesturing to Ron and shaking her head. Harry smiled back before gesturing with his hands, joining them together and tucking them under his cheek, miming that he was ready to sleep too.

Hermione sighed before mouthing 'men' at him and continued taking her notes. Harry chuckled and returned to his parchment and quill. He had written a small response to Sirius this morning. He told him not to worry and that Umbridge and the Ministry wouldn't be able to do anything to him. Harry could tell the fire call last night was because Sirius was worried Harry might get himself in trouble with the Ministry. He silently laughed at the irony of it.

He had sent Hedwig to deliver the letter this morning, instructing her to come back quickly this time. She had nipped at his finger, too hard for him to consider it affectionate, and took off at once.

Harry sighed as rubbed at his head, running a hand through his hair. Ron caught his attention again and he turned to look at him. He was silently arguing with Hermione again, trying to get her to stop poking at him when he fell asleep.

"No more notes for you! I'm serious!" she whispered to him.

"I don't care, not when I'm sleepy at least." Ron whispered back.

Harry shook his head in amusement. A sound caught his attention and he turned to look at the window. His eyes widened at the sight. Sitting at the window, tapping at it furiously was the snowy white owl.

Harry stared at it; he had only just sent her before breakfast. He was in his first class for the day. It had not even been an hour since he sent her with the letter. How could she be back so soon?

Keeping a close eye on the oblivious Professor, Harry darted to the window, opening it and allowing the bird to come inside. By this time, most of the students were watching Harry and his owl.

"When I said come back soon, I didn't mean within the hour. What are you playing at?!" Harry asked the bird.

A faint hoot was all that Hedwig could manage before she unexpectedly fell into his hands.

"Hey, Hedwig? What's the matter? Hedwig?" Harry asked, concern flooded him as he realised the owl was hurt. Her feathers had been ruffled and some were bent the wrong way. She was holding her wing at an awkward angle. She hooted dolefully and slowly stuck out her leg, bringing attention to the letter that was still tied to her leg. Harry recognised his own writing and knew that it was the letter he had tied to her not even an hour ago. He looked at her, noticing the amber eyes fixed on him. He knew she was trying to reassure him that his letter was safe; whoever had attacked her hadn't been able to take the letter from her. She had escaped and found Harry. Harry removed the letter from her. "Good girl, Hedwig." Harry soothed with a heavy heart. She hooted faintly at him again.

Harry turned around and left the classroom in a hurry, not bothering with the Professor who had yet to notice that there was an owl in his class. The students watched in confusion as Harry opened the door and left, not even bothering to pack up his things.

xxx

Harry found his way to the staff room. He knew Poppy would be useless in this matter. She treated humans, not birds. He knew the only person to have an idea of how to help Hedwig would be the Professor for Care of Magical Creatures.

Harry found the staff room and banged his fist against the door loudly. Hedwig was tucked close to his chest with his other arm.

"Open up!" Harry yelled as he banged the door again, resisting the urge to just blast the damn door open.

The door swung open and a sallow faced, greasy haired man appeared holding the door open. His onyx eyes fixed to Harry and his lips curled into a sneer.

"Potter! I should have known. Only you would have manners such to…"

"Save the insults, I don't have time. I need to find Professor Grubbly-Plan or whatever her name is!" Harry said.

Snape's eyes widened at that.

"Professor Grubbly-_Plank_ is unavailable to speak to you. She is on her break."

"We've just had Breakfast!" spat Harry. "What does she need a break for?"

"It is not up to you to decide when the staff of Hogwarts goes for their break, Potter! Now, you can leave." Snape made to close the door but Harry stuck his foot out and stopped it from closing.

"I don't think so." Harry hissed at him. "I need to see her, it's urgent."

"Urgent, is it?" Snape asked.

Harry knew he had noticed the white owl clutched to his chest. He knew the man wasn't blind; it was fairly obvious, what with the snowy white owl against black robes.

"My owl is hurt, I need her help." Harry grit out.

Snape's sneer deepened before changing into a smirk.

"Like I said, she's unavailable."

Snape took out his wand and pointed it at Harry's foot, which was still stopping the door from being slammed closed.

Harry's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, holding his wand holding hand in a vice like grip. Snape's eyes widened at the action and he stared in shock at Harry.

"Don't give me a reason!" Harry warned as he tightened his grip on the man's wrist.

The Potions Professor's face flickered with pain but he masked it.

"Mr Potter? Professor Snape?"

Harry let go of the man, regaining his senses. He saw the Professor he had come to meet, stand behind Snape. The Potions Professor rubbed at his wrist at once and turned around to find Professor Grubbly-Plank standing behind him.

"Professor Snape, what is going on? I heard my name being mentioned." The woman asked. She didn't appear to have seen the very near duel that was threatening to take place mere seconds ago.

Snape was about to reply when Harry beat him to it.

"It's about my owl. She's hurt; I was hoping you could take a look at her for me."

The woman moved towards Harry at once and took the injured owl from him. The bird let out a hoot and tried flapping her wings, protesting at being handed over to a stranger.

"It's okay, it's okay." Grubbly-Plank said in a soothing tone, her fingers running over her feathers, calming her. "What happened to her?" she asked Harry.

"I don't know. I just found her like this." Harry responded.

"Not to worry. It looks like she's got a broken wing but it's nothing I can't fix. I'll take her from you. Don't worry; she'll be as good as new in a few days."

Harry nodded his head and moved a step back. The Professor walked back inside with Hedwig, disappearing into the room. Snape was still standing where he was. He glared at Harry, his hand wrapped around his wrist. Harry glared back. Snape moved a step forward and slammed the door closed.

Harry turned to leave but stopped short. Ron and Hermione were standing behind him, Harry's bag clutched in Ron's hands. They had seen everything; it was clear from their expressions.

Harry walked over to them and took his bag from Ron.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "Why did you two miss class?"

Ron shrugged.

"I was asleep anyway, what was I going to learn?"

"We wanted to see what had happened to Hedwig. It's more important than, than one lecture of History of Magic." Hermione said.

Harry and Ron gave her a look.

"She'll be fine, Grubbly-Plank seems to think so anyway." Harry said, swinging his bag onto his shoulder.

Hermione looked at Harry with a soft smile.

"Even though that was incredibly risky and you probably blew your cover with Professor Snape, I think that was really sweet the way you fought to get help for Hedwig." She said as they took off to their next class.

"I just figured Harry would be mad at me if he came back and found out I had killed his owl. I don't want that on my head." Harry said with a shrug.

"Yeah, that's it. You did all that so Harry wouldn't be mad at you. It wouldn't be because you care about Hedwig." Ron said with a sly smile.

"Why would I care about a bird?" Harry asked, but he knew he wasn't convincing anyone. He gave up with a sigh. "She kind of grows on you." He admitted.

Hermione and Ron smiled widely at that.

"Harry loves that bird too, mate." Ron told him.

"Harry, aren't you afraid about what happened with Professor Snape." Hermione asked voice tinged with fear.

Harry shook his head.

"No, I'm not."

Harry knew that Voldemort knew about him, knew that he was from an alternate dimension. Why else would he send Draco to see if he had a compass with him or anything to do with it? Snape most likely had already been told at his latest Death Eater meeting.

"But, Harry, what if he tells Professor Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

"It doesn't matter," Harry answered. "Snape can tell him whatever he likes, as long they have no proof of where I come from; Dumbledore can't do anything to me. Snape might tell him he thinks I'm not Harry Potter or that I'm from another world, as long as they can't prove it, they can't do anything." Harry said.

They arrived outside their next class, Transfiguration, and waited for the other students to arrive.

"I wonder how Hedwig got hurt?" Ron wondered aloud.

"It wasn't an accident, she was attacked." Harry said.

"Who would attack your owl?" Ron asked.

"I think we know who." Hermione said, her face scrunched up in dislike. "It has to be Umbridge. She's the only one who would want to monitor your letters."

"That makes sense, especially since…" Ron was cut off by Harry.

"Ron, just a minute." Harry said, reaching into his robes.

The phone in Harry's pocket had suddenly rung, startling Harry for a moment. He quickly reached for it, taking it out of his pocket. He brought it to his ear.

"Hi, Damien, listen I can't talk…" he stopped suddenly, a look of surprise crossed his face before his expression changed and a sheepish smile broke out.

"Hi, dad."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please let me know what you thought. Cheers!!


	23. Short Tempers

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty Three**

_**AU World**_

Damien sat with his hands folded in his lap. His hazel eyes were fixed on the two figures in the room; his mum sitting, leaning on the armrest of the sofa chair and his dad pacing furiously with the mobile phone clutched to his ear. Damien could hardly look away or pull his attention away from his dad. He was aware of the other form, sitting quietly next to him, but he couldn't work up any strength to talk to him. He preferred to ignore Harry, just for the moment, while his dad waited for his son, Harry, to answer his phone.

James paused in his pacing as the phone connected and his son's voice filled his ear. Lily jumped to her feet when she saw James come to a standstill. She rushed over to him, asking him wordlessly if Harry really was on the other end of the phone.

"Harry!" James said, his voice betraying his relief as well as sheer anger.

"Put him on loudspeaker." Lily whispered. She pulled the phone away a little from James' ear and pressed a button, suddenly Harry's voice filled the room.

"Hi dad"

Damien felt a shiver run down his back. His brother was in so much trouble.

"Harry! What the _hell_ do you think you're playing at?!" James yelled angrily.

"Uh, okay, I know that you're mad but is there anyway I can call you back? It's just now isn't the best time." came Harry's voice.

Damien would have laughed if he wasn't so scared right now. James' eyes slightly bulged out at Harry's words.

"No! No you can't call us back! I don't care if it's the best time or not! What is the matter with you?!" James asked incredulously.

"I can't talk, not here. Give me five minutes and I'll call you…" Harry answered.

"Don't you dare hang up on me!" James warned.

"Sorry, dad. Don't have a choice. I'll call you soon." Harry's voice sounded.

"Harry!" James yelled but all he got back was the distinctive click that signalled Harry had hung up. James pulled the phone away from his ear and glared at it.

Damien gulped at the sight. He had never seen his dad so angry before, and he had done plenty of things to anger his dad, particularly the last two years.

James turned to face Damien, his eyes holding none of their usual warmth. He pointed at Damien, still with the phone in his hand.

"Explain, right now!" he spat out.

Damien had been hoping against hope that he didn't have to do the explaining. The phone call to Harry was for this purpose. After James and Lily had seen the 'Harry' before them transform back to his real form, they had both demanded to know what was going on. Damien had quickly told them that the boy before them was Harry Potter, but not the one belonging to this universe. He had pushed on, regardless of the growing alarm on his parent's faces, that both Harrys had effectively swapped universes. Damien had not explained anymore or how that exactly happened but hurried to pass over the phone to his dad, saying he could speak to Harry himself and find out exactly what had happened and what was going on.

But now, it seemed Damien had no choice but do the explaining. He took a deep breath to steady himself and started to speak.

"Dad, it's…"

"It's my fault."

Damien stopped and turned to stare at the boy sitting next to him. James and Lily directed their attention to the young boy sitting next to Damien. Harry was looking down at the ground but he lifted his head to look at James before he continued.

"I was the one who wanted to come here. I'm the one who should do the explaining."

James and Lily both looked uncomfortable talking to this Harry. They couldn't even look at him. Harry was silently glad his eyesight was blurry and he couldn't see their faces clearly. He didn't want to see his parent's expressions just now.

"How did this happen?" Lily asked finally.

In a quiet voice, Harry retold the events that had taken place two months ago.

"Harry and Damien just appeared at my house, one night. At first I thought I was imaging the whole thing. I had never even thought about alternate universes before…"

"What were you and Harry doing travelling to another dimension?!" Lily interrupted, emerald eyes blazing at Damien.

"It was an accident." Damien responded quietly.

"Knocking something over is an accident, breaking something without meaning to is an accident. Travelling to another dimension is NOT an accident!" Lily yelled loudly.

Harry was being promptly ignored again; he closed his mouth and stifled the rest of his explanation. It was clear nobody wanted to listen to him.

Damien swallowed heavily at Lily's reprimand and glanced at his dad. James wasn't even looking at him; that only meant bad news.

"Dad, I…" Damien started but was cut off when James suddenly gave a small jump, the phone in his hand had started vibrating and it lit up with light. James pressed the green button and answered it instantly.

"Harry?"

Lily once again pushed the button and switched the phone to loudspeaker so everyone could hear what Harry was saying.

"Sorry, dad, but I couldn't talk before. I was in the middle of the corridor and anyone could have seen or heard me." came Harry's voice.

"What? Where are you?" James asked, confused.

"At Hogwarts." Harry answered calmly.

James looked thrown for a moment. He shared an exasperated look with Lily before turning back to his son.

"Hogwarts? You go to another dimension and decide on attending Hogwarts!? What was wrong with the Hogwarts in _this_ dimension!?" James asked.

The sound of Harry chuckling filled the room.

"Dad, you sound like you're freaking out…"

"I _am_ freaking out! Harry! You're in another _dimension_! What in the name of Merlin did you think you were doing!?" James yelled.

"Calm down, dad. You're getting hysterical." Harry replied, sounding completely relaxed.

"I can't calm down! Not until you're back here!" James answered. "I want you to get yourself back here, _in the dimension you are supposed to be in_, and do it now!"

Harry paused before responding. Damien held his breath.

"Yeah, um, see, that's the problem. I can't come back."

James and Lily both glared at the phone.

"Why not?" it was Lily who asked the question.

"Oh, hey, mum. You're here too, huh?" Harry asked.

"Why can't you come back, Harry?" James asked, his voice unnaturally hard.

"The compass that I used to come here, it's, well, broken. I don't know what's wrong with it so I can't fix it." Harry replied.

James was clenching his teeth by now.

"What compass did you use? Where did you get it from?" he asked. Damien could just visualise his dad stomping his way back to the store, yelling that the compass they sold was faulty and he wanted a refund.

"It's something I picked up from Riddle Manor." Harry answered.

James closed his eyes while Lily let out a gasp.

"I should have guessed!" James spat. "So what now? You're trapped in this other world? Is that what you're telling me?"

"Yeah, sort off." Harry answered.

Damien and Harry shared a look, the conversation was about to get very ugly, very soon.

"I can't believe you would do something as irresponsible and as stupid as this!" James erupted. "You should know that you can't simply jump to other dimensions and _swap lives_! There is Dimensional Equilibriums to consider, the effects of such a swap, the repercussions to doing such a thing can be catastrophic!"

"Dad, calm down. I know what I'm doing." Harry answered. "There is nothing to worry about; the Dimensional Equilibrium isn't affected because me and this dimension's Harry have swapped with each other. Both dimensions have a Harry, just not the right Harry. If we both are in the same dimension together and we're in it for a substantial length of time, then the balance will be thrown off and complications can happen."

"Don't give me a lecture on it, I'm not interested!" James snapped. "All I'm interested in is getting you back home!"

"Dad…."

"Stop, Harry! Just stop!" James said. "Where is this compass? Maybe I can get someone to have a look at it."

"Damien's got it." Harry answered.

James looked over at Damien and got a small nod from the boy. He turned his back on him, not being able to control his anger.

"I can't believe you did this, Harry!" James said from between clenched teeth. "Why did you even _want_ to swap lives? Were you that bored here?!"

"No, it's not like that at all." Harry answered.

"Then what was it!? What was it that compelled you to do such a stupid thing as this!?" James asked.

"Have you not spoken to the Harry there at all?" Harry asked, his tone getting colder.

James didn't turn around to look at the mentioned boy. He kept his back to him.

"I'm not interested in what anyone else has to say! I'm asking _you_! You're my son! You explain it to me!" James yelled back.

"James…" Lily touched his arm but James raised a hand to silence her.

"Tell me what you were _thinking_ when deciding to swap lives! What did you hope to get out of this!" James asked hotly.

"A few days away from you and your rants, for a start!" Harry bickered at him.

"Anyone would agree with me that I have every right under the sun to rant at you when you pull stunts like _this_!"

"It's not a stunt!" Harry answered back.

"Then what is it?! Tell me, Harry, what is it that you hoped to gain from this!" James asked heatedly.

"I wanted Harry to know what it's like to live with parents."

James stilled at Harry's response. Lily next to him seemed to freeze in her actions as well.

"What?" James asked, his tone still harsh.

"I said, I wanted Harry to know what it was like to live with parents. What it's like to have them in your life." Harry answered.

James knew what that meant but his mind wasn't willing to accept it. He stood with the phone clutched to his ear.

"Harry? What…?"

"You're dead." Harry said quietly, the words coming out with notable strain. "You and mum, both are dead in this world."

James and Lily both turned around sharply to look at the Harry in the room, only to find his seat empty. They looked to Damien who was still sitting in his seat, somewhat dejectedly. He turned to look at the door, gesturing that Harry had left.

James managed to reach the chair next to his desk and fell onto it.

"How…? How did this happen?" James managed to ask.

"It's not for me to tell you." Harry answered. "Ask the one who lived through it."

James felt his entire body tremble with the realisation that he and Lily had died in an alternate reality.

"Dad, listen," Harry said with a sigh. "I only did this so he could see what it was like to have parents. He's never known you or mum. The swap was only supposed to be for two days. I never expected the compass to stop working."

James and Lily both had quietened down and both were sitting, listening to Harry.

"What is this compass called? Where can I find out more information about it?" James asked.

"Don't worry about that, dad. I've got a plan figured out. I just need time to put it into action." Harry responded.

"But, Harry..." Lily started worriedly.

"Mum, trust me. It'll be fine." Harry cut across her. "I have to go now, I'll call you later on, when I've got more time."

"Okay, yeah." James replied, his mind still reeling from shock.

"And dad," Harry called out before James could disconnect the call. "Don't yell at Damien. None of this was his fault. I was the one who wanted to do this. He tried to stop me but I didn't listen to him. I made him promise not to tell you or mum anything. He was only trying to keep his promise."

James looked at Damien, fury back in his eyes.

"Damien should have remembered another promise he had to keep." He said quietly.

Damien lowered his head, eyes trained on the ground. He knew his dad was going to remind him of that promise, the one he had made to him the day Harry had come back to them. The promise, that he would never keep anything secret from his dad if it concerned Harry's safety.

xxx

Damien knocked once on the door before entering. He opened the door and stepped inside, scanning the room for Harry. He couldn't see him.

"Harry? Are you in here?" Damien asked as he closed the door and walked inside.

The door leading to the en suite opened and Harry entered the room. Damien was momentarily stunned at the sight of him. For the last two moths, Damien had been with this Harry but he had looked like his brother, but now with the glamour gone, Harry just looked like his normal self. Damien had almost forgotten how thin he was and how small and fragile he seemed.

Harry gave Damien a small smile as he walked over to him. He was holding something in his hands and a closer look revealed it was his black framed glasses. Harry was rubbing the lenses clean with a small cloth.

Damien saw that Harry had changed out of the robes he had been wearing. He was once again standing in his baggy, threadbare jumper and jeans, the same clothes he had been wearing when he came to this world with Damien.

Without saying a word, Harry slipped on his glasses and looked at Damien, a sad smile on his lips.

"Harry, I'm so sorry." Damien apologised. "I really wish they hadn't found out."

"It's okay. It was going to happen, sooner or later." Harry said softly. "I just wish it was later." He added.

Damien nodded his head, he wished it was a lot later, preferably when his brother had come back.

"They, they want to see you, speak to you." Damien said, gesturing towards the door.

Harry nodded his head, looking like he would rather do anything than speak to James and Lily right now.

"Come on," Damien said, moving towards the door. "They're already pretty mad, let's not give them anymore ammunition."

xxx

James and Lily were sitting down on the sofa, both had their hands clasped before them, both preparing themselves for meeting the alternate form of their son. The fact that the boy had spent the last two months with them under the disguise of their son was making it harder for them to stay calm.

"I still can't believe this happened." James said, mostly to himself.

"I know" Lily nodded back.

"We have to figure out a way to get him back. I hope Dumbledore knows more about this special compass." James said worriedly.

"I'm sure he does, if he doesn't then he'll know who we can contact to get more information." Lily said, biting her lip in worry.

"Harry has really gone too far this time." James said, still not being able to get over the fact that his son was in a different dimension altogether.

"James," Lily said, straightening up. "We'll deal with Harry when he comes back, but…what do we do with the Harry that's here?"

James ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. I really don't know." he said honestly.

"I want to know what happened to him, what happened to…us. But at the same time, I don't know how to deal with it all!" Lily said. "I mean, how does this work? He's not really our son, but he is still Harry Potter, son of James and Lily, so that makes him our son, right?" Lily asked confusedly.

James sighed and turned to look directly at her.

"He's not our son, Lily. _Our_ son is the one trapped in another universe. We have to figure out a way to send him back, back to his world and get our Harry here." James said. "That's all we can do."

Lily nodded her head, not looking at all happy. A noise caught her and James' attention and both turned back to look in front of them.

Standing at the door, dressed in a haggard looking jumper and jeans, stood a small, bespectacled boy with messy black hair. He was standing with Damien and was staring at them.

"Oh," James said and looked to Lily, trying to figure out how they should face this situation.

Harry made it easier for them and walked inside, acting like he hadn't heard the last part of that conversation. He came and stood next to the seat opposite James and Lily.

"Sit down." Lily said softly, her tone was one that was used to speak politely to a guest. 'Or a stranger' thought Harry as he took the seat and sat down.

James noted that Damien sat down too, but he was sitting as far away from them as possible. He chose the desk and chair in the corner of the room to sit at, instead of the sofa.

Harry was taking care not to look at them. He kept his gaze fixed on their feet and the rug. James and Lily were finding it hard to look away from the boy. His glasses, thin face, small frame, haggard clothes were enough to suggest what kind of life the boy had led.

After a few awkward minutes, Lily cleared her throat.

"Why did you leave the room?" she asked.

Harry looked up at her.

"I…I just…I thought you might like some privacy." He answered.

Lily looked to James. She had guessed why Harry had left. James' words must have stung. '_I'm not interested in what __**anyone**__ else has to say! I'm asking you! You're my son!_'

James shifted a little in his seat.

"I'm sorry," James started with a sigh, making Harry look up at him. "I…I almost hurt you earlier. I was afraid you were an enemy." He sort of wished that was the case. That would have been a lot easier to deal with.

"It's okay." Harry said shrugging slightly. "You were only protecting your family. I can understand that."

James stared at Harry, taking in everything about his appearance. The boy was young, younger than his son Harry anyway.

"How old are you?" James asked.

"Fifteen" Harry answered.

James felt even worse now for attacking him. He was only fifteen; the same age his youngest son. His eyes flickered to Damien's sitting form and met his eyes.

He suddenly felt very ashamed of his words earlier.

"I didn't mean to sound uncaring, before," James said. "It's just…all of this is a lot to take in." James said heavily.

Harry shifted in his seat but didn't say anything.

"Harry," Lily started softly, making the boy look up at her. "I wish you had just come to us at the very beginning and told us the truth."

"Wouldn't you have just pushed my away?" Harry asked in return, fixing his gazed on Lily.

Lily hesitated in answering. She turned her head a fraction in James' direction but didn't look at him.

"I'd like to think we wouldn't have." She answered finally.

Damien shifted in his seat again but didn't join in the conversation. James caught the movement but quickly looked away from him. James leaned over and sat with his hands clasped together.

"We need to know, what…what happened in your world? How did you lose…us?" he asked in a quiet voice, if somewhat hesitantly.

Harry looked down again, trying to choose his words carefully. He idly noted how bizarre a conversation this was going to be, telling someone how they died. His silence stretched for so long that James and Lily were beginning to think he would never answer.

Before James could ask again, Harry spoke, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Halloween night," Harry started; not specifying which Halloween night he was referring too, but James and Lily didn't need him to. They knew which night Harry was talking about. "Things happened very differently in my world. Peter," Harry paused after saying the name, aware of how tensed the two adults became. He pushed on, "Peter never stole me to give to Voldemort. He brought Voldemort to Godric's Hollow instead." Harry looked up to witness the horrified expressions on both James and Lily's faces. "He was your secret keeper and he betrayed your location to his Master. Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow intending to kill me." Harry stopped here, the next words choking in his throat. "He killed them, because they were trying to protect me. Both of them died protecting me."

James and Lily found they could hardly speak. They sat in numbed silence as the words Harry had spoken penetrated their minds and settled like a dead weight inside them. Slowly, Lily reached out and touched Harry's hand before taking it completely into her own.

Harry sat in silence. The feel of his mum's hand on his was comforting and he allowed the feeling to take over him.

"How did you survive?" James asked when he recovered somewhat.

"I don't know. I was told that Voldemort struck me with the killing curse. It rebounded off me and hit him instead."

James and Lily gaped at Harry.

"I'm sorry, the killing curse _rebounded_ off you?!" James asked, clearly not believing it.

"Professor Dumbledore told me it happened because of my mum," Harry looked back at Lily, still holding onto her hand. "My mum died protecting me, she gave her life willingly for me and in doing so, she gave me protection. All that Voldemort's curse did was leave me with a scar."

Harry lifted up his bangs away from his forehead and revealed the lightening bolt shaped scar.

Lily almost pulled her hand away in shock. James recoiled at the sight of the curse scar.

"Oh, God!" he whispered. His eyes were fixed to the scar.

Harry pulled his hand away and let his hair obscure the mark again.

"For years I didn't know what the scar meant. I thought it resulted from an accident. I never knew it was given to me by my parent's murderer." Harry continued.

James and Lily shared a look with each other. 'It was _his_ scar that was hurting!' James thought to himself. He felt immense relief at the realisation. So Voldemort was not back, he wasn't after his son again. Suddenly the realisation spurred another one and James' face rapidly lost colour.

"Harry, you said the killing curse rebounded onto Voldemort. Does that mean, in your world, Voldemort is dead?" James asked, hoping with all his might that the answer was going to be 'yes'.

Harry lowered his head and shook it slowly.

"No, he's not dead." Harry said and both James and Lily pulled in a sharp breath. "He had disappeared that night. No one knew what happened to him. some thought he was dead but somehow he had survived." Harry swallowed heavily and forced the next words out. "This summer, he came back." he whispered.

James and Lily were speechless. Both were staring at Harry with a mixture of shock, horror and concern.

"How do you know, he's back?" Lily asked shakily, clearly hoping Harry was wrong.

Harry let a bitter smile take over his face.

"I was invited to his rebirth." He answered, mordantly. "Voldemort planned for me to fall into his hands. He took some of my blood in order to get back his body. I saw the whole thing."

Lily was shaking now from a mix of fear and horror. James instinctively put an arm around her and held her.

"When did this happen?" James asked.

"A few weeks before I came to this world." Harry answered.

James' eyes suddenly widened and he stared at Harry. He let go of Lily and sat still.

"James?" Lily questioned, turning to look at him.

James closed his eyes and let his head drop into his hands.

"I understand now. It makes sense." He whispered.

"What? What makes sense?" Lily asked.

He looked up at Lily and she could see the grief and heartbreak in his eyes.

"Why Harry decided to swap lives." James said, his voice laced with anger and hurt.

"But, Harry told us why. He wanted to let Harry come and see us." Lily said, gesturing to the Harry sitting opposite them.

James shook his head at her, his words coming out with notable strain.

"No, Lily. That's not the reason. You know Harry well enough; he doesn't do anything for anyone!" His hazel eyes were glistening with hurt. "Lily, Harry decided to stay in that world because that world has a Voldemort!"

Lily didn't respond but her eyes widened and her whole body seemed to stiffen.

Across the room, Damien felt his heart summersault in his chest.

"Dad, no, you've got it all wrong." Damien said.

James shook his head but didn't acknowledge Damien's protest. He turned to face Harry.

"Did Harry offer the swap?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Harry looked to Damien before back.

"Yes" he answered.

"Did he offer it before or after learning that Voldemort had come back?" James' words came out with a hiss.

"After" Harry confirmed quietly.

There was a frightening look in James' eyes. Harry could see he was biting his tongue, raw anger radiated from him. Harry quickly diverted his gaze, not wanting to see his dad so angry.

"After everything, everything that's happened, he still…! He doesn't…!" James couldn't get out a proper sentence. He raked a hand through his hair so roughly, it seemed he was about to pull it out.

"Dad, you've got it all wrong." Damien said again. He got up and crossed the room and was kneeling down next to him. "Harry didn't stay there because of Voldemort. Harry's not planning on meeting him. He told me himself!"

James looked at Damien but didn't answer him. He let his head drop back into his hands.

"I have to get him out of there." James said, still with his head in his hands.

"Dad, please…" Damien reached out to pull his dad's hands away from his face but James shook the boy's hands away.

Stunned at the rejection, Damien faltered for a moment but then tried again.

"Harry won't go anywhere near him. He only did the swap so this Harry can meet the both of you. Harry was planning on being back in two days. Dad, don't think Harry is there for Voldemort. He's not, I swear he's not, trust me…"

James lifted his head and looked at Damien. His scathing gaze made Damien recoil. He never meant to say the words at the end, they just slipped out.

James stood up abruptly and without saying a word to Damien, he moved past him and walked out. Damien was still sitting on the floor. He looked up at his mum before dropping his head again, his chest aching with pain. His dad would never trust him again, never.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry walked to his next class, his mind still on the phone call he had made.

"Reckon you'll make it through the whole of this class?" Ron joked as they climbed up the ladder leading them into their Divination classroom.

Harry threw him a look before pulling himself through the trap door. He had missed the end of his History of Magic lesson because of Hedwig. Then he missed the start of Transfiguration because his dad had found out the truth about his whereabouts and had called to yell senseless at him.

"McGonagall can really be scary at times." Harry commented, remembering how the Professor's nostrils had flared and the way her mouth had formed the thinnest of lines.

"I'm still stunned she didn't give you detention for walking in over ten minutes late." Ron said as he pulled himself through the door.

"Well, I think she heard about Hedwig. She probably thought I was away to see her and that's why I was late." Harry said as both boys took their seats in the heavily perfumed classroom.

"Well, I suggest you stick by this lesson." Ron said, noting something in the corner of the classroom.

"Why's that?" Harry asked.

"Look," Ron pointed. Harry looked over to see the small witch dressed in pink, sitting on a stool with a clipboard and quill clutched in her stubby fingers. "It's inspection time!" Ron sniggered.

Harry pulled his gaze away from Umbridge. This was the first class he had attended that had Umbridge inspecting the Professor. He met her gaze as she scanned the room. Harry raised his eyebrows at her and gave her a smirk. She promptly looked away.

Professor Trelawney got up from her seat, her fingers were pulling at her shawl. She looked like she was having difficulty ignoring the witch sitting behind her, but she moved towards the seated students nonetheless and spoke in her misty tone.

"Welcome, children, to another lesson in the divine art of Divination."

The lesson commenced, and Harry and Ron continued whispering about the phone call, ignoring the lesson completely.

"Was he really mad?" Ron whispered.

"That's an understatement. He was freaking out." Harry answered.

"I hope he doesn't get mad at…at Harry." Ron lowered his already whispering voice.

"Why would he do that? If he's mad at anyone it'll be me and Damien." Harry felt his stomach flip at the thought of his brother. He could only imagine what he was going through.

"I didn't think he had such a temper." Ron said.

"I don't think I help matters much." Harry whispered back.

"…and now, if you take the globes and look deeply into them, you will see the future of the person sitting next to you. Open your third eye, children, look past the crystal ball and see the future!"

Harry looked at the glass ball sitting before him. He looked over at Ron and smirked.

"I'll go first." He said, an amused look on his face. He looked into the globe and stared at the white mist.

Ron watched quietly as Harry stared at the globe.

"Hmm, interesting." Harry murmured.

"What? What did you see?" Ron asked, excitedly.

"You're going to be lost in a cloud of mist forever." Harry said, looking at him.

"What?!" Ron exclaimed.

"That's what I see, white mist." Harry answered back, pointing at the globe.

"Very funny, Harry." Ron said with an exaggerated huff.

"Oh, come on, Ron. This is a whole lot of rubbish! Divination is a joke!" Harry laughed.

"I know, we've never really liked this class." Ron said. He knew Harry would understand that 'we' meant him and this world's Harry.

Before Harry could say anything, he felt someone approach his table. Looking up he saw Professor Trelawney, staring at him through her thick glasses.

"Is everything alright here, dear?" she asked in her dreamy tone.

"Yes, everything's fine, Professor." Ron replied quickly, hoping she would leave them alone.

But the Divination Professor didn't leave them and hovered around near them, glancing at Harry.

Ron mumbled something and stared into the globe, darting his gaze to the Professor every few seconds to see her approving nod.

"Um, well, Harry. I see…I see the Quidditch pitch and a golden snitch; that means you'll become a national Quidditch player." Ron lied.

Harry sniggered at Ron's expression as he screwed up his face, making it look like he was concentrating hard on gazing in the globe.

"What else?" Harry asked, just to annoy him.

Ron threw him a glare but went on.

"You're going to get married, have kids and die as an old man. Pretty boring life, really." He finished.

"Sounds good." Harry smiled.

That was enough for Professor Trelawney as she swooped back over to them, an annoyed look on her face.

"My dear, while you tried hard on reading the future, I fear you may have misread the signs." She said to Ron before turning to the globe.

She waved her hands over it and stared into it. Her face was contorted as if she was in pain. She let out a rough gasp and covered her mouth with her hands. She looked up at Harry, who was staring back at her with a couldn't-care-less expression.

"Oh, my dear. Oh, my poor, poor dear." She said, shaking her head from side to side.

Her actions had caught the attention of most of the class. Professor Umbridge had been talking to Parvati and Lavender but stopped to listen to the teacher.

"I am sorry to say that I see nothing in your future. That can only mean one thing; you're not going to live long enough to _have_ a future!" she said dramatically.

The girl students in the room let out a collective gasp. The boys rolled their eyes. Professor Trelawney was in her element and after hearing the reactions to her words, she continued with her morose future telling.

"You're going to have a horrible, tragic, painful, death. A death that is going to chill the blood of those who witness it! I can see it! I can see the tragic end to your tragic life!"

Harry suddenly let out a cough, an exaggerated and very apparent fake cough. Professor Trelawney looked to him concerned, as if afraid that the boy was going to drop dead soon.

"What is it, dear? What's wrong?" she asked, looking him over.

"Oh, nothing," Harry said. "It's just that I'm allergic to bullshit."

Ron almost choked and turned to look at Harry, who was still sitting calmly, staring at the dumbstruck looking Trelawney. The Divination Professor was gaping at Harry; her magnified eyes were unblinkingly fixed on Harry, mouth left open as she struggled to respond.

The boys' snickered and small giggles broke through the class. That snapped Trelawney out of her shocked stupor and she gathered herself up as best as she could. Harry gave her an innocent smile.

Professor Trelawney turned and walked away, ignoring him and Ron for the rest of the class. Harry looked over at a grinning Dean, who gave him the thumbs up. Harry's eyes met Umbridge, who was standing just behind Dean. She gave him a sickly sweet smile too. Harry smirked at her and let his eyes flash at her, sweeping her smile off her face.

xxx

"That was priceless!" Ron gushed at Harry as they sat at lunch.

"You actually said that to her?" Hermione asked, forgetting to eat the spoonful of mashed potatoes.

"What?" Harry asked. "I am allergic to bullshit." He repeated.

Ron roared with laughter again. Even Hermione let out a giggle.

"She must have loved that!" she said, finally eating the spoonful.

"Oh, Hermione. You should have seen her face! It was like she had been run over by a herd of Hippogriffs. It was awesome!" Ron said.

Harry smiled into his food and continued eating while Ron and Hermione talked about how much of a fake Trelawney was.

"I know that she's a fake. I knew it after the first lesson of Divination!" Hermione said.

"Hence you walking out and dropping the subject." Ron added.

"And I thought I had seen everything." Harry commented.

Hermione gave him a look but pushed on.

"But, Harry said that she made a true prophecy, in our third year." She gave Ron a meaningful look. "Remember?"

Ron sobered a bit and looked down at his food.

"Don't remind me." He said with a bitter tone.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Remember we told you about Snuffles? And how he had a chance to prove his innocence but, but _Scabbers_ ruined it?" Hermione prompted.

Harry remembered that story. It had made him want to hit something, hard. Sirius could have been proved innocent, he could have had his life back, but Peter had escaped and with him, left all chances of Sirius' innocence being proven.

"Yeah, I remember." Harry muttered. He looked sideways at Ron. He understood why he didn't want to remember that day. That was the day he realised his pet rat, Scabbers, was actually Peter Pettigrew, the man who had sold the Potters to Voldemort and was the one responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter.

"Harry said that when he told Professor Dumbledore about her prophecy, he had said that, that made her total come to two." Hermione finished.

Harry looked up at that.

"She's made another Prophecy? One that actually came true?" he asked.

"According to Professor Dumbledore." Hermione answered.

Harry thought about that, was it too much of a jump to assume that she was the one who prophesised about him and Voldemort?

"Harry, look!" Hermione broke him out of his thoughts and he swerved around to see what Hermione was pointing at.

A few seats down, Neville was sitting quietly, eating his lunch quietly.

"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Neville is sitting by himself. This is your chance, go for it." Hermione said excitedly.

Harry glanced around to see if anyone had heard her.

"Um, Hermione, if anyone overheard that, they would jump to a totally wrong conclusion." He said.

Hermione ignored him and pushed on.

"You promised you would be nice to him." she said. "Recently, you've been ignoring him and talking down at him. You have to fix that. He's sitting alone; this is your perfect chance."

"Hermione, the boy shares a dormitory with us." Ron pointed out.

"I think it would mean a lot more to Neville if Harry talks to him here." Hermione said.

"Hermione…" Harry started.

"You don't want him getting suspicious." Hermione whispered. "You know the first person he'll go to if he suspects something about you?"

Harry gave her a long look before getting up noisily from the table. Hermione looked smug as Harry made his way over to the oblivious boy. As he neared him, Harry noted the boy was submerged in a book. With a heavy sigh, Harry approached Neville.

"Hey, Neville." Harry said injecting a bit too much enthusiasm in his voice.

Neville was startled from his food and looked up at him.

"Oh, hi, Harry!" he smiled.

Harry sat down opposite him, completely lost as to what he should talk about.

"So, um…how have you been?" Harry asked, hating Hermione more and more for making him do this.

"Alright, I guess. You know how I nearly burnt off my fingers in Potions last week. I still have the essay Professor Snape gave me, 'Why having fingers is vital when brewing Potions' to complete."

Harry nodded his head while glancing at Hermione and Ron, both who looked at him with encouraging smiles.

"I don't know why I get so nervous in Potions." Neville admitted, looking defeated. "Well, I know why; it's because of Professor Snape, but I just wish I could stop being afraid of him, you know?"

"Uh-huh" Harry agreed, not taking in anything he was saying. 'Merlin, why doesn't Frank instil some confidence in him!' he thought to himself. 'It's probably Alice, she's been mollycoddling him!'

"I mean, I'm afraid of Professor McGonagall too, but at least I can still focus when in class. But with Potions, it's like…"

"Hey, is that a book?" Harry asked, cutting him off. He didn't think he could take anymore of the boy's complaints.

Neville looked thrown by the sudden change in topic and looked over at his open book.

"Oh, yeah. It's really good. Professor Sprout got it for me from the restricted section." Neville said with a grateful look. "It's got amazing facts on all this plant life that is found all over the world. Did you know, Harry, there is a tree in France that grows yellow and red flowers which can be used in almost any potion? And in Sweden there are these turnips that can…"

"Okay, nothing is worth this!" Harry said as he got up quickly from his seat. He hurried away from Neville before he could finish his turnip story.

Neville was left looking lost as to what just happened. He turned slowly and saw Hermione and Ron looking at him. He gave them a small, reluctant wave and a forced a small smile before dropping his head.

"I don't think that went very well." Ron whispered to Hermione.

The bushy haired girl let out a sigh before looking back at the doors, through which Harry had disappeared.

xxx

The dark pensieve stood proudly on the wooden stand. The deep engravings and runes along the rim of it stood out in glistening white, contrasting with the dark brown of the bowl.

Lord Voldemort stood beside it, his hands placed on either side of the bowl. He was once again alone in his room; his followers had yet to be summoned. Voldemort looked to the left and saw his prized possession. He smiled a cruel smile, when he looked at the golden compass. The item had allowed him to travel to another dimension. He had gone to an alternate universe and had easily gained what he desired in a matter of hours.

He smiled again as he recalled how easy it had been to spot the foolish Auror, making enquires about a raid and trying to gather statements. It had been almost too easy to kill him and use his blood for Polyjuice. Then it had been a matter of tracking down his other self. The Ministry had been pointless; they didn't have anything on him. It was almost as if he never existed.

Voldemort, disguised as Auror Liam Ferguson, had then looked what information the Ministry held on Death Eaters. He realised that almost most of his inner circle was dead. Only one member was on the run, Lucius Malfoy. It had been easy to track him, the Dark Mark had more than one uses.

Voldemort pulled out the two elongated tubes from his robes, taking care to handle them properly. He opened the tubes and poured the contents of both into the bowl before him. The silvery white substance, neither liquid, nor gas, swirled inside the pensieve.

Without a moment's hesitance, Lord Voldemort plunged head first into the memories of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, memories he had almost killed them to gain.

"Lucius Malfoy's memories." Voldemort said clearly. He was the one he was actually after; Narcissa had just gotten in the way.

Lucius' memories started, memories of childhood, his education, his friends, enemies and so on. Voldemort tore them away; he wasn't interested in all that. Voldemort spoke another name, the one that had inspired him to visit the other world.

"Harry James Potter"

He watched as a small baby, wrapped in a blanket was placed at the feet of a still handsome looking Voldemort. Lord Voldemort watched as his other self with interest, noting all the differences in his appearance and trying to gage what point he was at in his life. He figured out this was the night he had attacked the Potters in this universe. This was the same night that had ripped him from his body and had forced him to barely survive for thirteen years.

"Bella, lift the boy and let me have a closer look at the brat!"

Voldemort watched as Bella came almost instantly to lift Harry off the cold floor and hold him up.

'Such a waste of power'

The thought Voldemort had, was echoed in his mind. He could feel what his counterpart was feeling; the rush, the feel of power as he raised his wand to take life, the way his heart beat that bit faster, the way his magic thrummed inside him, aching to get out.

Voldemort remembered feeling exactly like that the night he pointed his wand at a one year old Harry Potter, just after killing the wretched boy's mudblood mother.

He watched as the child opened his emerald jewelled eyes and stared innocently at Voldemort. A moment of hesitation and the sudden blinding green light was deflected at the last possible moment.

'What is going on?!' Voldemort wondered as he saw the smile spread on his counterpart's face as he looked at the child.

This particular thought never left him, all the way through the rest of the memories

xxx

"You went to him!" Harry asked angrily.

"I had no choice. I had to let him know." came the response.

"Dad, you do know you don't have to tell him everything that happens in your life!" Harry asked hotly.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be pissing all over Dumbledore. He might be the only one who can bring you back home!" James responded.

"There's a thought!" Harry muttered to himself.

He was sitting once again, in the Room of Requirement. He had promised to call his dad and as soon as the last class of the day finished, Harry had rushed to the secluded room to make the long, necessary phone call. Harry hadn't even stopped to eat dinner.

"What did he say? Does he know about the compass?" Harry asked.

A heavy sigh before a small, "no" was heard.

"So, that revelation was a bit pointless!" Harry pointed out.

"Dumbledore can and will help us. He'll find out all there is to the compass, we all will." James promised.

"Did you talk to Harry?" Harry asked, wanting to change the topic of conversation.

"Yeah, sort off." James answered.

"What do you mean, 'sort off'? Did you speak to him about his past or not?"

"We did. He told me and Lily what happened on Halloween night in his world." James confirmed.

"Pretty twisted, huh?" Harry asked quietly.

"That's putting it lightly." came James' response. A few moments passed in silence before Harry heard James sigh. "I can't believe what a difference one changed decision can make." He said.

"I know." Harry agreed.

"He's so different," James started. "He's actually not like you at all. I can't see anything about his personality that reminds me of you."

"That's a bit much, after only seeing the real him for a few hours." Harry pointed out.

"Even before that," James said. "I knew something was up with him. I just thought you were going through something; acting weird and everything. I never thought…"

"Dad, I'm sorry. I already told you the swap was only meant to be for two days. I never meant for this to be dragged on for so long." Harry said.

James didn't answer to that and Harry could tell his dad was still angry about being kept in the dark, again.

"Did Harry tell you everything? I mean about his life" Harry asked, wondering if the boy had shared the private parts of his life.

"Um, no, not really. We sort of got side tracked with how different the events were of that Halloween night." James answered. "I got distracted with something…" James trailed off, still trying to calm himself down so he could talk rationally to Harry about Voldemort.

"You got distracted? By what?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort" James said.

Harry stilled and for a moment sat completely motionless.

"Dad-"

"No, Harry, let me talk first," James started quickly. "I know how you feel. Merlin knows how difficult it is for me to understand what you feel for him, but I do. I know that you think he's the same man as he was in our world, but Harry the truth is that he's completely different. He hates you; he has never loved you, not for a single moment. If he gets the chance, he will kill you. I need for you to understand this! Please, don't go anywhere near him. Promise me that you will stay out of his way."

Harry unclenched his fist and glared at the wall before him.

"I swear to Merlin! Do you all think I'm stupid or what?!" Harry hissed back at him. "Of course I know this Voldemort is different! I know what he'll try to do to me and as dumb as you all think I am, I have enough instinct to keep myself alive to know not to go anywhere near him!"

James didn't answer straight away. After a long pause he whispered,

"Thank you, Harry."

"Did you honestly think I was going to try and meet him? Why would you think that?" Harry asked.

"Because it's Voldemort." James answered back simply.

"But he's not my Voldemort. This wizard is not the man who brought me up. This wizard is the one who killed James and Lily Potter, orphaning Harry Potter and forcing him to be brought up by magic hating idiots!"

"What?!" James asked at once.

"Did you not even ask him about who brought him up!?" Harry asked exasperated. "Did you talk to him at all?!"

"I never asked about who took him in. I just assumed it was Sirius who brought him up." James answered.

"Does he _look_ like he's been brought up by Sirius?" Harry asked annoyed.

There was no response from the other end. After a few long minutes, James asked in a fearful voice.

"Who was it then? Who brought him up?"

"I already told you, it's not my story to tell. Ask him yourself." Harry said. Harry could easily detect the awkwardness in his dad, even though all he had to go on was his voice. "Dad, talk to him," Harry said quietly. "That's the reason he came to see you and mum, to get to know you both."

"What good will it do, Harry?" James asked heavily. "One day, he'll have to go back to his world, back to his dimension. Won't it hurt him all that more, knowing what he won't have when he goes back?"

"No, it won't." Harry explained. "He doesn't have anything of you on the moment. The only time he saw you and mum was during a Priori Incantanteum when he was duelling with Voldemort." Harry pushed on, ignoring his dad's gasp. "The only time he remembers speaking to his parents, was when their echoes came out of Voldemort's wand." James remained quiet, prompting Harry to go on. "Dad, that's me. The boy there with you is me; it's what I would have become if Voldemort had arrived at Godric's Hollow that night. You have a chance to get to know me, a second chance, under different circumstances. Don't lose it." he said quietly.

"He's not you, Harry. He's completely different." James answered back.

"You don't know that for sure. Get to know him, you might just be surprised." Harry answered.

"I will talk to him. I realise I walked out on him earlier and I shouldn't have done that. It just…it got too much. I will talk to him tomorrow." James said, sounding like he meant it.

Harry smiled. Somehow, knowing that the Harry with his parents would still get a chance to be treated like their son, made Harry feel strangely comforted. He told himself it was simply because he didn't want his swap to be a waste of time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review!! Thanks!!


	24. Noble Intentions

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty Four**

_**AU World **_

The knock on the door was just loud enough to startle Harry from his sleep. He quickly got off his bed and hurried to answer it. He opened the door, expecting to see Damien or maybe Ginny. Instead he found himself staring up at a tired looking James.

"Morning, sorry, did I wake you?" James asked, still standing at the door.

"No, it's okay. I was awake." Harry lied. He was still in the clothes he was wearing last night. He hadn't bothered changing into pyjamas.

James looked awkward as he stood outside Harry's quarters.

"Can I come in?" James asked at last.

"Yeah, sorry." said Harry, quickly stepping aside to let him in.

James walked in, head bowed and eyes fixed to the ground. He remained standing and waited until Harry had closed the door and taken a few steps towards him.

"I spoke with Dumbledore, last night." James said, sitting down on Harry's sofa.

"Oh" came the quiet response from Harry. He sat down at the foot of his bed.

"I told him the truth. He wasn't all the surprised actually, said that he had suspected something was going on. He had noted your…different…behaviours and had assumed you weren't Harry, I mean…that you weren't the same." James stumbled over his words, looking more uncomfortable with every passing moment.

Harry tried to ignore the awkwardness as much as he could.

"Professor Dumbledore knew I wasn't this world's Harry?" Harry asked, amazed.

James looked up at him, his surprise evident at hearing Dumbledore being addressed as 'Professor' by him.

"No, he didn't know that was what had happened. He just suspected that something significant had happened to Harry, since he wasn't acting like himself."

Harry nodded his head before dropping it. If the Headmaster knew the truth, he would certainly figure out a way to swap him back with the other Harry. His time in this world was certainly over.

"Did, did Professor Dumbledore say, if there is anything he could do to fix the…the compass?" Harry asked.

James let out a sigh before shaking his head.

"He doesn't know anything about the compass," James answered heavily. "All he can do is ask around about it; see if anyone else has the kind of knowledge we need to get it working again."

Harry dropped his gaze again. So he had a little more time in this world. The thought wasn't as comforting now, now that his parents were uncomfortable around him. James seemed to read the boy's expression.

"I want to apologise, Harry," James started. "The way I acted yesterday, it wasn't right. I'm sorry."

Harry nodded his head once, clearly uncomfortable.

"It's okay." He said in a tone that showed that it clearly wasn't.

James looked around the room, trying to find the right thing to say. The words his son had said to him last night were swimming in his mind. '_The boy there with you is me; it's what I would have become if Voldemort had arrived at Godric's Hollow that night. You have a chance to get to know me, a second chance, under different circumstances. Don't lose it._'

He looked at Harry to see him sitting with his head lowered, an attempt to avoid looking at him. James sighed.

"Are you hungry, Harry?" he asked, making Harry look up slowly at him, brow furrowed.

"What?"

"Are you hungry?" James repeated. "I thought we could get some breakfast. Come on." James stood up and Harry followed, a bewildered expression on his face. James led the way out, hoping his technique worked.

xxx

James and Harry met Lily in her quarters. They called for the house elves and asked if they could arrange their breakfast in Lily's quarters. It would have been awkward for Harry to walk into the Great Hall, looking like himself.

James had told Dumbledore about this 'other world' Harry, but he didn't want the whole of the wizarding world to find out that his son had switched places with his alternate dimensional self. That would only cause problems.

James watched as the boy ate in silence but he seemed to look a bit more relaxed. He noticed that the boy chose the exact food his Harry would have chosen; bacon with hash browns and a slice of toast but no ketchup; Harry didn't like ketchup.

"Harry," James started, picking up his cup of tea. "I have to apologise about yesterday again. I really wasn't thinking straight."

Harry started to respond, shaking his head and quickly swallowing his mouthful, no doubt to say it was okay.

"And before you say 'it's okay' you should know, it isn't." Lily put in before he could say anything. "Both of us were out of line." She finished, looking to James before back at Harry.

Harry didn't say anything.

"I would like to start over," James said quietly. "I realise we didn't even let you finish your explanation of what happened that led you to come here." James said, with a shameful expression.

"There wasn't really much else to it," Harry said.

"Well, do you think you could tell us about yourself?" Lily asked.

"About me?" Harry asked, surprised that they would actually care. "But I thought you wouldn't be interested." He said honestly.

James and Lily both looked stung by his words.

"We would be very interested." Lily said, recovering. "After all, you are technically our son." She said softly.

Harry let the words process in his mind. He looked to James to find him looking a bit uncomfortable but he nodded his head at Harry nonetheless.

Harry took a deep breath.

"What would you like to know?" he asked.

"Start at the beginning," James said. "Start with, who brought you up?"

xxx

The Great Hall was noisy as usual and the students of Hogwarts were busy eating their breakfast, ready to start another day of school. In the midst of the happy, chatting students sat two glum looking students and a trainee Healer.

"I can't believe they found out." Ron said, shaking his head slowly. "I really thought you would get away with this."

"I didn't," Ginny said, looking to Damien's depressed form. "I told you they would find out. Secrets don't stay hidden for long."

Damien sighed deeply before hiding his face in his hands. He rubbed at his face.

"It wasn't something I wanted to keep from them." he said, bringing his hands down and folding them on the table. "I only did what Harry asked of me."

"And look where that brought you?" Ron said. "Damy, you can't always do what Harry asks of you. You _knew_ your dad would go berserk on you, once he found out what had happened. You shouldn't have kept anything from him. You should have told him…"

"Yeah, okay, Ron! I know!" Damien bit out, throwing his friend a glare.

Ginny put a hand on Damien's curled fist, making him look up at her.

"Talk to him. He'll make things better." she said quietly.

"I can't. Dad took the phone from me." Damien said glumly.

"I wasn't talking about Harry. I meant, talk to your dad." Ginny explained.

Damien shook his head.

"No, it won't do any good. He's beyond mad at me. He won't talk to me." Damien replied.

"You have to at least try. Hiding from him won't work." Ron pointed out.

"Two years ago, when he found out I was meeting Harry in secret, he got so mad at me, he didn't talk to me for weeks." Damien reminded them.

"That was a different situation. Harry was being hunted down. Everyone was out looking for him. You knew where he was but you didn't tell your dad. That was why he got so mad. But now, things are different. Your dad knows that Harry is safe." Ron said.

Damien looked at Ron wearily.

"My dad knows that where Harry is, _he_ is there too. He thinks that is the reason Harry stayed there. So he can see _him_ again." Damien said quietly.

Both Weasley's seemed to pale a little at that. They shared a look with each other.

"That's not true." Ginny said, with forced conviction.

'I hope it's not.' Damien added silently to himself. 'I _really_ hope it's not.'

xxx

"Who brought me up?" Harry asked, feeling his stomach twist into knots.

"Well, after what happened to us, someone must have taken you in. Who was it?" Lily asked.

Harry shifted in his seat. Suddenly the prospect of telling his parents about his life seemed like a bad idea.

"Harry?" James questioned, worry evident in his voice.

Harry steadied his nerves and started with his explanation.

"Professor Dumbledore wanted me to stay with someone that offered me protection. A security that couldn't be compromised. He knew that Voldemort wasn't gone for good and could come back. So, he had this theory that since my mum gave her life for me, she left me with…with blood magic. So…so if, if I were to stay with someone from my mum's side of the family, the blood magic would protect me."

Lily looked confused.

"But, how could that work? My parents died two years before you were born. Or did they survive in your world? Did you stay with your grandparents?" she asked, excited at the prospect of not losing her parents.

"No, no it wasn't…my grandparents." Harry said slowly.

"So, who did you stay with? I haven't got any other relatives that could've taken you in." she said.

Harry winced and looked down. The action brought realisation to both James and Lily.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Lily said, shaking her head, rising from her seat. "You couldn't have! Dumbledore would know not to send you there! He knows what she's like!" Lily said with rising anger and panic.

James looked like steam was about to erupt from his ears. His face had gone pink.

"He sent you to live with Petunia?" James asked slowly.

Harry looked up at him and nodded his head.

"He left me with Aunt Petunia." Harry corrected.

Lily let out a sound that sounded oddly like a gasp and a word of profanity mixed together.

"You lived with Petunia!" she yelled. "What was Dumbledore thinking? He knows how much she despises magic! He knows how she reacts to it!"

"Wait, Lily, maybe it's not as bad as we think. Maybe in that world, she didn't marry him." James suggested. Both James and Lily looked at Harry.

"Vernon Dursley" Harry confirmed.

James ran a hand through his hair, muttering something under his breath. Lily had taken to pacing the room.

"I don't believe this! I don't believe this!" she yelled. She stopped pacing and looked at Harry. Her eyes were taking in Harry's form and his small frame. She started pacing again with vigour.

"I can understand about the blood magic but, Petunia and Dursley! They would never have done anything for us, let alone bring up our child!" James said. He looked at Harry and Harry could see the next question in his expression alone. He cringed, waiting for it. "Why didn't Sirius take you in?"

Lily stopped in her frantic pacing and turned to look at Harry.

"Yes! Yes, why did Sirius not take you in? It was his duty as your Godfather to look after you!" she said with accusation in her voice.

Harry felt his heart twist at hearing the anger directed at his Godfather.

"It wasn't Sirius' fault." Harry said. "He wanted to take me in, but, he couldn't." he said, remembering the offer he made to him, the night they had met in the Shrieking Shack.

"Why?" James asked.

"He was sent to Azkaban." Harry said slowly.

The silence that met those words was chilling. Lily was standing, gaping wide eyed at Harry. Her mouth was opening and closing but no words came out. But it was James' reaction that drew Harry's attention. His eyes had suddenly grew cold, his jaw was clenched, as was his fists and he seemed to be fighting the urge to punch something.

"Everyone had thought he was your secret keeper," Harry continued. "No one knew you had switched it to Peter." The name brought a wave of renewed anger to James and Lily. "After the attack on Godric's Hollow, Sirius ran after Peter. He wanted to avenge your deaths. But when he caught up with him, Peter tricked him. He framed Sirius for the death of twelve innocent muggles before faking his own death. He escaped by using his Animagus form and Sirius was arrested by Aurors. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial."

Lily was shaking by now. She sat down on the nearest chair and hid her face behind her trembling hands. The words, 'Oh God! Oh God!' were continuously repeated. James had yet to say anything. He was still sitting down, his body held stiffly. Harry could tell he was in shock.

At last, James shoulders shifted and he looked up, his eyes burning with emotion.

"Peter did all that?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yeah" Harry replied.

"What about Remus?" Lily asked in a choked voice. "Where was he all this time?!"

"He didn't know you had switched the secret keeper. He thought Sirius was guilty too." Harry told them sadly.

James finally had enough and he stood up. He started pacing, hands running through his hair.

"This is so…so twisted!" James said, hands rubbing at his face. He took of his glasses and rubbed at his eyes furiously. "How can everything go so wrong?! I…I can't understand!"

Harry didn't say anything and sat quietly. James seemed to regain his control and straightened up before replacing his glasses. He walked back to the sofa and sat down. Lily took the chance to come back to her seat too.

"So in your world, Sirius is still in Azkaban?" James asked, a notable strain in his words.

"He was for twelve years. Two years ago, he escaped." Harry replied.

James and Lily looked relieved.

"How did he…? No, forget it. I don't want to know how he did it." Lily said, looking quite ill. "I'm just glad he did."

"So he's in hiding?" James asked, not looking happy at all.

"Basically, yeah. I don't know where but Professor Dumbledore knows about his innocence and is helping him." Harry said.

The mention of Dumbledore brought James and Lily back to the topic they were originally discussing; who brought Harry up.

Lily swallowed nervously before leaning closer to Harry.

"Did…she, Petunia must have known that…that I had died."

"Yeah, she knew." Harry said quietly. "She told me that you and dad died in a car accident. She accused dad of driving whilst drunk."

James bristled as if he had been burned.

"Drunk driving!" he exclaimed.

"But did she treat you okay?" Lily pushed on, a note of desperation in her voice.

Harry couldn't break her heart so he nodded his head awkwardly.

"Yeah, of course. She was…fine." He said, not meeting her eyes.

Lily reached out and tilted his chin up, her emerald eyes gleaming with emotion.

"The truth, Harry. Don't lie to us again."

Harry winced and took a deep breath.

"It could have been better." he answered.

"I'll say!" James hissed angrily. "One look at you and exactly how she brought you up is apparent!"

Harry pulled at his withered jumper.

"Thanks" he said, attempting to lighten the mood.

It didn't work.

"Tell me about your childhood." ordered Lily.

"Mum, really, it was fine…" Harry began.

"Harry, you will tell me everything truthfully or I will give you Vertiserum." Lily threatened.

Harry looked taken aback.

"Really?" he asked.

"Well, no, but it's a good threat." Lily replied.

Harry smiled and looked down at his hands.

"Did it work?" James asked, referring to Lily's empty threat.

Harry looked up, smile still in place.

"A little." He admitted. "But I have a lot to go through and both of you have classes and…"

"Don't worry, we have the day off." James interrupted. "Dumbledore arranged substitute Professors for both of our classes today."

Harry knew he couldn't get out of it now. He decided to tell them about his life. He could have lied to them but he couldn't bring himself to do that.

He only got as far as telling them where he slept for ten years of his life,

"SHE DID WHAT?! I'LL KILL HER!" Lily erupted, shooting to her feet again.

xxx

By the end of that night, Harry was thoroughly exhausted. He had spent the entire day; from before breakfast to after dinner, talking to his parents. He had only left his mum's quarter under an hour ago and was now lying on his bed, after having a quick shower. He couldn't stop smiling. His mum and dad had been so concerned about him. They had showed such strong emotions towards him when he ran through an account of his life.

His smile deepened when he recalled how Lily had wanted to 'throttle Petunia and her whale of a husband' for making Harry sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. James had come right out and demanded to know if Vernon or Petunia had ever raised their hand on him. Harry had quickly reassured him that nothing like that had happened. They had threatened to hit him, to give him a 'good thrashing' but he had never been beaten by them.

Harry had figured that James' question had been asked for another reason. He wanted to know if he had suffered, like the Harry of this world, beaten and abused as a child. Harry shuddered slightly. His aunt and uncle were not the nicest of people but they had never physically hurt him. His uncle had grabbed him by the scruff of the neck a few times but that wasn't the same as being beaten bloody. Still, Harry had taken care to avoid those questions. He didn't want to lie to his parents, but he didn't want to upset them either.

Harry pulled off his glasses and put them onto the bedside table. He yawned and ran a hand through his still wet locks. His dad was so proud of him when he told him he had made it as a Seeker in his first year of Hogwarts. He had turned to Lily and puffed out his chest.

"My son, what else can you expect? Huh?" he had said to her with a chuckle.

Harry smiled and closed his eyes, sleep creeping into him. Those words repeated in his mind as he gently drifted to sleep.

"_My_ son…"

xxx

Lily had joined James in his quarters and both were discussing what they had learned about Harry while drinking hot mugs of tea.

"I can't believe he's been in so much danger and no one has done anything about it!" Lily fumed. "Saving the Philosopher's stone, facing Voldemort! Killing a Basilisk, a Basilisk! For crying out loud! Forced into the Triwizard Tournament, taking part in all those inhuman tasks, Dragons and Merpeople," Lily shuddered. "If I ever get my hands on that world's Dumbledore I'll…" Lily's words were drowned out by the sound of knocking.

James got up and answered his door, to find Damien standing before him. James hadn't seen Damien since yesterday and had been grateful for it. He was still too angry to face him. James left the door open but didn't acknowledge the boy's presence. He turned around and walked back to Lily. Damien walked inside and closed the door behind him, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Hi, mum, dad." Damien tried.

James moved to his desk and ignored Damien. Lily, however, couldn't disregard her son.

"Damien," she greeted. "Did you want something?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to apologise, again." Damien replied, taking a few steps nearer. "Mum, really, I didn't want to do this! I tried to get Harry to come back with me, I really did! But you know how Harry can be."

Lily glanced at James' back and turned to Damien.

"Damien now isn't…"

"I know you both are really mad at me," Damien pushed on. "I understand how you both feel. If I was in your place, I would be mad at me too." He looked to his dad, facing his back. "I'm really sorry. I won't do anything like this again. I just want you to know that."

James still didn't turn around or make any sign that he had heard Damien. Lily looked sadly at James before back at Damien.

The fifteen year old nodded his head, understanding the look she was giving him and turned to leave, his dad was still too mad at him to listen.

"How many times?"

The question made Damien pause mid step. He turned to find James had turned around and was now staring at him.

"How many times are you going to promise to us that you'll never do it again, only to break that promise?" James asked.

Damien felt shame wash over him. He lowered his head, eyes fixed to the ground.

"I'm sorry, dad." He said, speaking to the ground.

"Apologising doesn't excuse the fact that you completely abused my trust and your mum's trust!" James responded.

Damien winced at the words but nodded his head.

"I know" he said softly.

"I asked you not once, not twice, but again and again if something was the matter with Harry, if you knew why he was acting strange. And every time, Damien, every single time, you came up with lies and you didn't stop to consider even once how much those lies were effecting us." James continued.

Damien nodded his head miserably.

"I know"

"You could have come to me at any point. You could have done what I had asked of you and told me that Harry was in trouble, that he was trapped in another dimension, that the compass you used wasn't working. But you didn't come to me, you didn't come to your mum, you just continued playing your daft games and making a fool of your dad." James said angrily.

Damien looked up at that.

"No, dad. I never…"

"I don't want to hear it, Damien!" James said, holding up a hand.

"James, let him explain." Lily jumped in.

"There's no need. I know what he's going to say, what explanation he will give." James turned to face Damien. "He's going to say that he didn't want to go along with this plan but he did it because Harry asked him to. He did it because his brother demanded it of him." James paused for a moment, hazel eyes fixed to his son. "But you seem to forget that you have a responsibility towards me too, to do as I say. You may fulfil your duties as a brother but you forget to fulfil those of a son."

Damien could feel the sting in his eyes but he pushed it back. He wasn't going to break down, not now.

"James, that's really harsh." Lily was standing near Damien now.

"Harsh? No, Lily, I'm not being harsh. Harsh would be to tell him how fed up I am with his lies. Harsh would be to tell him that I can't take anymore of his deception. Harsh would be for me to say that I'm not going to expect him to be truthful to me again!"

"Dad, stop, just…stop, please." Damien cried out, his treacherous tears escaping from his eyes.

Lily looked she was fighting with herself to stop from going over to him and comforting him. But she looked at James fiercely, wordlessly telling him to 'fix' the situation. James took one step near Damien but was looking at him with no hint of mercy.

"I know that your upset and I also know that you are genuinely sorry for keeping us in the dark. But I also know that should the need arise again in six months, you will do it again without a singe thought. All it will take is one word from Harry and you'll be ready to deceive us again." James grabbed a hold of Damien's shoulders. His grip was not unkind but it was far from comforting. "Damien, I love how close you brothers are. I know that you and Harry share a close bond and that you will do anything he asks of you. But you have to recognise that you have a bond with us too. You share a bond with your mum and with me and every time you lie to us, our bond grows weaker."

Damien was finding it hard to look away from his dad's intense gaze. He stayed where he was, his dad's grip firm and hard, keeping him in place.

"I don't want to lie to you." Damien whispered.

"So don't." replied James.

"I don't want to disappoint Harry either." Damien said, trying to get his dad to understand how trapped he was feeling.

"I understand that. But you can't always do as he tells you just to keep from disappointing him. Damien, he is your brother. He isn't going to hate you if you say no to him." James explained.

"I know, but it's the way Harry says it. I can't fight against him." Damien explained.

"I'll be having strong words with him when he gets back as well." James glowered, dropping his hands away from Damien. "He has no right asking you to lie for him in the first place!"

Damien looked up at James.

"He will be able to get back, won't he, dad?" he asked in a small voice.

James looked back at him, seeing the fear in his eyes. He wrapped his hands around his shoulders again, but this time it was a comforting gesture.

"I told you, I'll always bring Harry back home, always." James reminded him.

Just at that moment a knock was heard on the door before it swung open and three people walked in.

"Evening Potters!" Sirius grinned as he walked in, followed by Remus and Tonks.

The three stopped in their tracks at the sight before them; James standing with a tearful Damien, Lily standing just behind them with a painful expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked at once, losing his smile.

James felt his heart twist suddenly as he looked at his friend. The recollection of what Harry had told him happened to Sirius in his dimension came back to him and James almost collapsed under the rush of emotion.

Before he could say anything he heard Lily let out a choked gasp and she ran past him and Damien, heading straight for a bewildered looking Sirius. She flung her arms around his neck and started crying noisily, burrowing her face into his shoulder.

Sirius rubbed her back, looking at James and Damien, completely lost as to what was happening.

James knew that Lily cared deeply for Sirius, just as she cared for Remus. Her usual banter with him was a force of habit but the dark haired man was just like a brother to her and she loved him like one.

"Lils, what's going on?" Sirius asked, trying to pull her away gently.

"Oh God, Sirius! Oh God!" came her muffled reply as she clung harder to him.

"James? What happened?" Remus asked, eyes full of concern.

Tonks was trying to comfort Lily too.

James shared a look with Damien. This was going to be a long, not to mention emotional, night.

--

_**Canon World**_

"Mr Potter"

Harry looked up from his dinner and saw his head of house standing before him.

"Yes?"

"Come by my office after dinner." McGonagall said, looking down at Harry. "I have something important to discuss with you." with that, the Transfiguration Professor turned around and walked out of the Great Hall.

Harry looked to the two Gryffindors sitting opposite him.

"What do you reckon that's about?" Ron asked, looking surprised and a little afraid for Harry.

"No idea." Harry replied, trying to remember what he had done to upset the woman.

"Maybe she wants to speak to you about coming late to class." Hermione suggested.

Harry pulled a face.

"An office invite just for that?" Harry asked.

"You don't know McGonagall, she's strange like that." Ron replied, looking convinced that, that was what the 'talk' was going to be about.

Harry however wasn't convinced. He looked over at the staff table and fixed his gaze on the person sitting on the high backed chair in the middle of the long table. The Headmaster was eating his dinner, eyes downcast and fixed on his plate.

"Maybe," Harry said quietly. "But I do know Dumbledore, and this has his name written all over it."

xxx

Harry approached the dark wooden door that led to Professor McGonagall's office. He knocked once on the door and forced himself to wait for an answer instead of walking inside, for the first time in his life.

The door was answered quickly and the stern looking witch gestured for Harry to come inside. Harry walked in and let McGonagall close the door. He glanced around her office; it was decorated exactly in the same way as in his world.

"Sit down, Mr Potter." McGonagall instructed as she walked around her desk and took her seat.

Harry complied and sat down, warily.

"Why did you call me here?" Harry asked, at a second thought he quickly added "Professor"

His Professor was looking at him with barely hidden annoyance.

"I called you here to have a few words with you," she started. "Mr Potter, I am extremely disappointed in you." she said, her lips pressing into a thin line as her eyes fixed him with a fierce look.

Harry looked at her with surprise.

"Disappointed?" he asked.

"Yes, disappointed. I have received numerous complaints from no less than **three** of your Professors! Your conduct with them has been appalling! I have just received complaints from Professor Snape, Professor Umbridge and just recently a complaint from Professor Trelawney that you used offensive language in front of her and you insulted her. Is this true?"

Harry couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"I was merely stating the facts." He relied back.

"Would you care to relay them to me?" McGonagall asked in a threatening voice.

Harry shifted in his seat but didn't say anything. McGonagall pushed on.

"Harry," she said with a heavy sigh, leaning closer, over the desk. "You mustn't draw attention to yourself. Were you not aware of the presence of Hogwarts _High Inquisitor_ in your Divination lesson when you berated your Professor?"

Harry remembered only too well how the toad like woman had smiled at him.

"What does that matter?" Harry asked.

"It matters very much because Dolores Umbridge already has filed an official complaint against you to the Ministry. Nothing became of it due to lack of evidence on her part but that doesn't mean she will stop trying to get you in trouble." McGonagall told him in a serious tone. She was obviously referring to the time Umbridge supported that message on her forehead.

"She won't get anything on me." Harry told her confidently.

"You're right about that because you won't _do_ anything that could lead you to any trouble!" she countered.

Harry didn't respond to that.

"Mr Potter," McGonagall straightened up and looked at him with her usual no nonsense expression. "I am giving you a formal warning. You will behave yourself, especially in front of Dolores Umbridge. You don't want to give her anything she may be able to use against you. This instruction comes from the Headmaster too."

At that, Harry's head snapped up and his eyes grew narrowed.

"The Headmaster?" he enquired.

"Yes" McGonagall answered.

"Was he too shy to tell me himself?" Harry asked.

McGonagall's nostrils flared and her already thin lips pressed tightly together.

"This is the kind of thing I am referring too. Stop being a smart-aleck and hold your tongue!"

Harry just stared back at her, giving her no response.

"Keep your head down and stay out of Umbridge's way. And I mean this with all my sincerity, Mr Potter, if I receive one more complaint from any one of your Professors, I will personally make sure you regret it, do you understand me?" McGonagall asked.

"Perfectly" Harry answered, keeping the small, polite smile on his lips.

"Good. You may go." with that, the Head of Gryffindor dismissed Harry from her office.

Harry got up and left, without a single word to her. He arrived at the common room in a matter of minutes and headed straight for the two anxiously waiting Gryffindors.

"Harry? What did McGonagall want?" Ron asked, half rising from his seat, while Hermione quickly dropped her textbook onto her lap, all attention on Harry.

Harry didn't answer Ron's question and instead turned to Hermione.

"You still want to start that rebel group?" he asked her.

Hermione looked surprised with the question. She looked to Ron before back at Harry.

"You mean the 'learning Defence' group?" she corrected.

"If you still want to set it up then go for it," Harry said. "I'm in."

Hermione quickly rose to her feet, facing Harry with an excited but wary look on her face.

"Harry, are you sure?"

"Completely," Harry answered. "We'll start tomorrow, I don't know how much time I have, so why waste any."

"Harry, what's gotten into you?" Ron asked, rising from his seat too. "You were so dead against it before. Why did you change your mind?"

Harry's eyes darkened just a shade.

"I just found the perfect reason."

xxx

"So let me get this straight," came Damien's voice. "You're going to teach _duelling_ at _Hogwarts_?"

"No, it's not…just duelling." Harry answered. "It's more than that. It's proper defence."

"You mean defence as in when you duel?" Damien asked.

"Damien, it's not like that." Harry answered with a sigh.

"Of course not. You wouldn't take the job Dumbledore offered because you didn't want to teach _Hogwarts students how to duel!_" Damien put heavy emphasis on the last few words. "But teaching them, _secretly,_ how to duel, well, that makes a world of a difference!"

Harry rubbed at his eyes, it was late and he was currently in the Room of Requirement, talking to his brother about the latest happenings.

"Okay, so maybe this is ironic in…every sense." Harry said. "But the circumstance is completely different. In my world, Dumbledore wanted me to teach them but in this world, it's the last thing Dumbledore would ever want."

"Harry, really? You're going to go through this all just to spite Professor Dumbledore?" Damien asked.

"You won't understand," Harry started. "You didn't see how desperate McGonagall was to make sure I understood I had to stay away from Umbridge and to keep a low profile. It wasn't her fear, Damy, it was Dumbledore's. He's afraid of something. Afraid that I'll make him look bad in front of the Ministry, that's why he wants me to behave in front on Umbridge. So if I set up a club after her Educational Decree specifically said not to, well, this is just too good a chance to miss." Harry smirked.

"Harry! Forget about Dumbledore and how to mess with him! Instead, concentrate how to get back here." Damien said heatedly.

"I will. I just need time. Besides, your life should be easier now, everyone knows the truth." Harry replied.

"Yeah, right!" Damien huffed. "Life is easier; dad's still pissed with me, mum just keeps on crying, Harry is…well, he's okay, actually." Damien said pausing for a moment. "Sirius is in, like, shock! Remus just keeps growling at everything and Tonks wanted to know what happened to her."

"So they found out too, huh?" Harry asked, leaning back to lie on the sofa.

"Dad told them about three hours ago. They thought dad was messing with them. You should have seen Uncle Siri's face, Harry; I thought he was going to be sick."

Harry felt his heart skip a beat at the mental image of how Sirius looks in this world.

"You're lucky you didn't see him in this world then." Harry said quietly.

There was a few moments pause before Damien's voice sounded again.

"It pretty twisted, how everything changed so much." He said quietly. "One different act and so many lives fell apart."

Harry didn't answer but he agreed with Damien.

"I'm surprised dad gave you the phone back." Harry said, changing the topic.

Damien laughed.

"He didn't. I asked for it and he just glared at me and said, 'Not a snowball's chance in hell!' so I asked mum to sneak it from him. I'm actually on borrowed time. She wants it back in five minutes."

"At least mum's on your side." Harry joked.

"Yeah, um, I forget to say, she wants a word with you too."

"Damien, don't give her the phone." Harry warned, sitting up now.

"Sorry, part of the condition for getting the phone." Damien apologised. "I'll speak to soon."

"Damy, no, don't…" Harry stopped and closed his eyes. "Hi mum!"

xxx

Breakfast was as noisy as ever. But for once, Harry didn't mind. The noisier it was the better. He had a lot to discuss with Ron and Hermione.

"After dinner then," Harry said. "In the Room of Requirement."

"Yeah, okay." Hermione agreed. "Um, Harry. I was wondering. Since you'll be teaching us, shouldn't we ask around and see if maybe others want to learn too?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry looked at her.

"You've already told others about this, haven't you?" he accused.

Hermione began to shake her head but then gave up and nodded once.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I just wanted to see how much interest there would be. But this is a good thing. It will utilise your time better. Where you'll be teaching two people, you can teach…more…than…two." She said awkwardly.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

"How many have you told?" he asked.

"Just a few people." Hermione said. "Mostly Gryffindor."

Ron shot her a look but didn't contradict her. Harry was still looking at her suspiciously.

"Yeah, okay. A few will be fine." he said, making Hermione sigh with relief and excitement.

xxx

Harry opened the door leading to the Room of Requirement and found himself rooted to the spot in shock. There was a large group of students sitting on large colourful cushions. There were at least twenty of them. Harry looked around and found Hermione sitting amongst them, smiling awkwardly at him.

Harry walked inside and closed the door behind him. He gestured to Hermione to get up. She quickly got to her feet and hurried over to him.

"Hey, Harry!" she said nervously.

"A few?!" Harry hissed quietly to her. "What is it with you women and your numbers? _This_ is a few to you?!" he asked.

"Well, word got around and all these people arrived. What was I supposed to do?" she asked.

Harry glared at her.

"Oh, come on Harry! What's the problem anyway? We want to do something against the Ministry and against Umbridge's abysmal teaching method. The more people we have with us, the better!"

Harry looked at her as a thought came to him. He relaxed and smiled at her, making her sigh in relief again. She hurried away to sit back down. Harry looked over at the students and felt himself smile. Maybe Hermione was right and this wasn't a bad idea. After all, the more students he taught, the more trouble Dumbledore would land in.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ah, Harry and his noble ways! ;) Please let me know what you thought of it!! Cheers!!

Authors Note:

I wanted to let all of you know that my story, 'The Darkness Within' has been nominated for the Best AU Story in The Quibbler Awards. The link is in my Homepage. Please vote for your fav stories!! Thank you!


	25. The DA

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to all those who reviewed! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter Twenty Five**

_**AU World **_

Harry opened the door to his dad's quarters as quietly and as gently as he could. He had knocked but received no response. He was only checking if the door had been locked when the handle clicked and the door opened. Harry peeked through the gap, scanning the empty room. His dad was nowhere in sight.

Harry felt disappointed. It was still early in the morning, just before eight, he was expecting to see his dad. Harry was about to leave when he heard the bathroom door open and saw a dark haired man came out, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Harry let himself in, so he didn't look like he was loitering in the doorway. He closed the door behind him, the noise making the dark haired man look up suddenly. Harry saw Sirius stare at him in surprise. Harry hadn't realised it was Sirius either; he felt a smile spread on his face at the sight of his Godfather. It was only a second later it registered that Sirius was staring at him with shock. His true appearance was of course the cause of it.

"Sirius, don't panic. It's me, Harry. I can explain this." Harry said quickly, not wanting the Auror to attack him, the way his dad had.

But Sirius never attacked him; he didn't even move to pull his wand out. He just stood there, gaping at Harry, his eyes travelling down Harry's skinny frame, taking in his glasses, his thin face and pale complexion. He finally managed to pull himself out of his self induced trance.

"Damn, Harry. It's really you." he gasped as he stared into Harry's eyes.

"Wow, that was fast. You believed me right away." Harry said, truly surprised. "Not that I'm complaining." He added.

"What? Oh, no you don't understand, I know about you. James told me, last night, about you and the alternate world and the swap and everything." Sirius said.

"Oh, okay." Harry said, a little let down. He had quite liked the idea of Sirius recognising him in his own.

Both wizards stood looking awkwardly at each other. Harry suddenly felt very foolish, standing in his dad's quarters, his pale blue pyjamas literally hanging off his skinny frame. He had to turn up the sleeves a few times so he could use his hands. The bottoms got the same treatment.

Sirius broke the tense silence.

"You want to sit down?" he said, gesturing to the sofa.

Harry looked in two minds, a part of him wanted to stay and talk but the other part was screaming at him to run from the awkward situation. Reluctantly, he nodded his head and moved to the sofa.

"Did you stay the night, here?" Harry asked, seeing the dishevelled clothes he was wearing.

"Sirius ran a hand through his untidy hair and nodded.

"I wasn't planning on it but after learning about you and…about…me," Sirius swallowed heavily before continuing, "I wanted to know everything. James told me as much as he could. Damien gave some, disturbing details he had learnt from Harry," he waved his hand distractedly towards the window, "the Harry in the other world, and before I knew it, it was three in the morning. Lily suggested I stayed here. I think she may have been worried about me." He looked up at Harry and then smiled; a small, sad smile. "The other me, but she had no choice but to take out her affection on me."

"Do you know where they are, mum and dad, I mean?" Harry asked.

"They went out, I don't know where. Lily was with James and both left about an hour ago." Sirius answered.

"Oh" Harry answered. He figured they had probably gone to get more information on the compass and how to get it fixed.

Sirius observed Harry closely.

"You hungry?" he asked, scanning his slight frame again.

"Not really," Harry began. "I haven't had breakfast yet, but…"

"You haven't. Well, let's not waste any time. Let's go to the Great Hall!" Sirius said, with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"I can't," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Not looking like this." he gestured to himself.

"Well get changed then." Sirius said with a frown. Then it hit him, Harry's different appearance. "Oh, right." He sat back down.

"You can go, if you want." Harry suggested. There was no reason why he should go hungry.

But Sirius shook his head and snapped his fingers. A house elf appeared next to Harry.

"Breakfast, please." He smiled at the house elf. "And quickly, we're really hungry."

The house elf bowed deeply before disappearing with a pop.

"How did you…?"

"It's the staff quarters. Anyone inside them can call and request from the house elves. They serve them, as they serve the staff of Hogwarts." Sirius explained.

Breakfast appeared in the next thirty seconds, startling Harry. He watched as four house elves laid the trays of food on the coffee table, along with two plate settings before disappearing with a pop.

Sirius gestured to Harry to join him and both wizards started their breakfast, in silence. Harry wondered if he should start the conversation, but he couldn't think of what he should say. He had spent almost three months in this world, and he had met Sirius on a number of occasions but only now did Sirius see the real him. So what should he say to him? Sirius appeared to be having similar thoughts and was caught giving Harry quick glances.

"James told me you love playing Quidditch." Sirius said finally, breaking the silence.

Harry swallowed his mouthful to answer.

"Yeah, I do."

Sirius smiled at him.

"He said that you were recommended to join the Gryffindor team by McGonagall in your first year." He looked expectantly at Harry. When Harry nodded his head, his eyes widened dramatically. "Really? That happened! I thought James was fibbing!"

Harry had to hold back his grin.

"No, it really happened." He assured him.

"Blimey!" Sirius sighed. "First years are never allowed to play in house teams. You must have been the youngest Quidditch player in…in…!"

"In a century." Harry finished for him, a broad smile on his face now.

Sirius looked at him, pride shinning through his eyes.

"Well, how about that?" he said with a smile.

Harry ducked his head and focused on his plate, his face felt warm all of a sudden.

"I always thought you would like Quidditch," Sirius continued, making Harry look up. "I mean, James got a toy broomstick the day he found out Lily was expecting!"

"Really?" Harry asked, smiling at the thought of how his mum reacted.

"Oh, yeah," Sirius said, leaning back in his seat. "James bought nearly half of Diagon Alley the day he found out he was going to be a father. Well, to be more accurate, he bought nearly half of every shop that dealt with toys, baby clothes and baby accessories."

Harry laughed at that, imaging his dad walking out the shops, surrounded by countless shopping bags.

"Wow, he must have been excited." Harry commented.

Sirius' smile saddened a little.

"Yeah, he was." He said quietly. He looked at Harry and then down at his feet. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Harry's not really into Quidditch, not as much as James would have liked. I think he likes flying, but not the game as much. I guess it's understandable; he never grew up playing the sport." Sirius said.

"Neither did I." Harry said before he could stop himself.

The look on Sirius' face was heartbreaking. He looked at Harry with guilt shining in his eyes. He dropped his head into his hands.

"Merlin, Harry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for what happened."

"Why are you apologising, it wasn't your fault." Harry told him, confused as to how Sirius could hold himself responsible.

Sirius looked up at him.

"Yes, it is. If I had taken a moment to think, to figure out the consequences of what I was doing, you would never have had to grow up with the _Dursleys_." Sirius said the name with severe dislike. He looked guiltily at Harry again. "I'm so sorry, Harry."

Harry shook his head again. He had never blamed Sirius, not even for a moment.

"How could you have known Peter…" Harry faltered for a second at the look of rage on Sirius' face as he said the name of his ex friend. "…would trick you like that. He took you by surprise." Harry explained.

"I shouldn't have gone after him." Sirius said shaking his head. "You should have been my first priority. Your dad trusted me to look after you. I _should_ have looked after you."

Harry found he couldn't argue with that. He stayed silent and watched Sirius.

"I don't blame you." Harry finally said, making Sirius look slowly up at him.

"Then you're either very kind or very stupid." He told him.

"It might be the latter. I've been told that a few times." Harry joked.

Sirius smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. He sighed heavily.

"Do you know what scares me, Harry? The fact that I can see myself doing what I did in your world." his eyes suddenly turned very cold. "The day I woke up in hospital and I learned what Peter had done. When I discovered he had taken Harry to…to Voldemort, I wanted to go after him. I wanted to find him and kill him, regardless of the consequences."

Harry sat in silence, listening to his Godfather.

"I think I would have killed him if I ever found him. I would have suffered the same fate as I did in your world." Sirius said.

"Well, then I'm glad you didn't find him." Harry said with a shaky voice.

Sirius let out a bitter dry laugh.

"Yeah, Harry got to him before I could."

Harry felt his heart jump uncomfortably. He knew what had happened to Peter. He saw the memory in Harry's pensieve; Harry hadn't killed Peter, he had gone with the intentions to kill him but he was already dead by the time Harry arrived. He didn't correct Sirius though. Partly because he wanted to talk about something else and partly because he knew Sirius found it comforting to think Harry took vengeance on the one who caused him to suffer so much.

"Can we talk about someone else?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, sure." Sirius said looking like he wanted to change the topic too. "Who do you want to talk about?"

"You," Harry said, making Sirius look at him in surprise. "I don't know much about you." Harry told him embarrassedly.

"What do you want to know?" Sirius asked with a relaxed smile.

"Did you ever want to be something other than an Auror?" Harry asked.

"A musician." Sirius told him with a devilish smile. "I wanted to play in a rock band. But I was talked out of it."

"By who?" Harry asked.

"Remus," Sirius answered. "Always the voice of reason; he was the one who suggested we become Aurors. I went along since James was up for it."

Harry smiled.

"Did you ever get married?" Harry asked, he knew it was a personal question but he was wondering about that.

Sirius held up two fingers.

"Twice," he told Harry. "Both times I messed up and my wives decided I wasn't worth the trouble and left."

"I'm sorry." Harry said.

Sirius waved his hands, brushing the apology away.

"Don't be, it was for the best." Sirius answered, nonchalantly.

Harry spent the next hour learning all about his Godfather, and about Remus and James. Their trio reminded Harry of himself and his two best friends.

It was then that the door opened and James and Lily walked inside, carrying numerous bags with them. They stopped at the sight of Sirius and Harry, dirty dishes in front of them, in the middle of an amusing looking conversation, if the smiles they had on their faces were of any indication.

"Hey, Harry, Sirius." Lily greeted. She dropped the bags near James' desk and looked at the two wizards.

"Where did you two go? You've been away for hours." Sirius asked as James carried over the rest of the bags and deposited them next to Lily's pile.

"Shopping," James answered and then eyed the significant collection of bags before him. "A lot of it!"

Lily ignored him and focused on Harry.

"Did you sleep okay, Harry?" she asked.

"Yes, fine, thank you." Harry quickly answered.

"You've had breakfast, good." James said, eyeing the empty plates. "I was trying to hurry back in time but when your mum's on a mission, she doesn't stop until she's reached her goal."

Lily smiled at James and elbowed him out of her way.

"That's why women are more successful in life." She told him, as she walked past him.

Harry was curious about the big shopping trip his mum had gone on but he knew better than to ask, it would seem very nosy of him. But for Sirius, this wasn't an issue.

"What did you buy me?" he asked as he walked over to the bags.

"Nothing, and shouldn't you be on your way? You have to get to work." Lily told him.

"Nah, I can go in whenever I want." Sirius told her. After seeing her hard expression he added. "As long as no one catches me coming in late."

Harry stifled his laughter and watched as Lily scowled at Sirius.

"Are the other up yet?" James asked.

Sirius looked confused before his eyes widened and he slapped himself across the forehead.

"Merlin! I forgot about Moony and Tonks!"

"Did they stay the night too?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, they were in Lily's quarters. Damn, I totally forgot about them." Sirius answered.

"I'll go and see if they're up yet and if they've had breakfast." James said and left the room.

"Did you sleep okay on the sofa?" Lily asked Sirius, as she looked through her shopping bags.

"Yeah, it was fine." Sirius told her.

Lily picked up three of the bags she had examined and pulled them to the side. The rest she levitated and brought to rest before Harry. The boy watched in silence as Lily started pulling out outfits and robes of every colour and place them on the sofa, next to Harry.

"I had to guess your size, I'm sure they'll fit though. I have a good judgement about these things." Lily told him. She picked up a set of blue coloured robes and stood up.

"Stand up, Harry."

Harry obeyed and stood, still not taking in what was happening. Lily held the robes next to him and checked the size.

"Perfect, I knew it." she smiled.

Harry looked back at the large pile of clothing on the sofa and the numerous still full bags sitting next to the sofa and realised all of this was for him.

"You bought all this stuff for me?" he asked.

"Yes" Lily answered, picking up another set of bottle green robes. "I couldn't stand to see you in those awful clothes you were in yesterday. I'm going to burn them later on." she said, her face showing her extreme anger just for a minute before she hid it.

"But, you didn't have to." Harry stuttered, completely blown away by the fact that she had gone shopping specifically for him and had bought him over a hundred different items of clothing.

Before Lily could respond, Sirius jumped in.

"Yeah, Lily. You could have just resized Harry's clothes for him." he said, eyeing the obscene number of shopping bags.

Lily's expression hardened and she gave Sirius a cold look.

"No, I couldn't have!" she snapped at him and turned to pick up another set of clothes, a pair of jeans and a jersey top.

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"Because they're Harry's," Lily replied tightly. "He'll need them when he comes back."

Harry shifted uncomfortably and avoided looking at Lily. Sirius, however still didn't pick up the warning signs.

"You could just resize them when he comes back…" Sirius started.

"Shouldn't you be going now?" Lily asked, turning to face him.

"Oh, okay. Fine, I get it. I'm not welcome anymore." Sirius teased, winking at Harry. "I'll go then."

With that he strutted towards the door with an exaggerated huff. Before leaving he turned to smile handsomely at Lily. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Leave!" Lily commanded and Sirius did just that, chuckling at her annoyance.

Lily turned to face Harry who was smiling at their antics.

"I don't think he will ever grow up." She told him with a sigh.

"I hope he never does." Harry added.

xxx

The pub was completely full. Even though it was only the beginning of December, Christmas decorations were already in place, brightening up the cosy pub. All the tables were occupied and the owner, Madame Rosmerta was busy attending to all her customers. She placed two bottles of Butterbeer in front of the two boys and turned quickly to serve the large crowd gathered on the other side of the bar.

Draco opened his bottle and took a large sip. He held the cool bottle in his hands, feeling the cold penetrate deep into his hands and run through him.

"I don't know how Harry can drink this crap warm." He said taking another cold sip.

The boy next to him nodded in agreement.

"He is weird." Damien admitted.

"That's not saying much." Draco commented.

Damien looked over at him and then back at his drink.

"You know what else I find weird," Damien said, before glancing around. "The fact that I'm sitting here in the Three Broomsticks with you and it's not a Hogsmeade weekend. Everyone here knows I shouldn't be here but no one has said anything to me."

Draco chuckled deeply before turning his grey eyes onto the younger boy.

"You know exactly why that is." He challenged.

"I think I do, but somehow I can't believe it." Damien replied.

Draco stared ahead of him, his eyes following the busy barmaid and her workers.

"The Potters have become somewhat of a royalty." Draco explained. "No one is questioning your attendance, especially at this particular pub since Madame Rosmerta has literally made the Potters her guests of honour." Draco sniggered. "No one will question your attendance since no one wants to upset you, or more accurately, your big brother."

Damien scoffed at that.

"Not much he can do from where he is." He whispered.

Draco took another sip and didn't answer.

"Any luck with the compass." He finally asked.

Damien took a moment to answer.

"No, but dad's not exactly looking for ways to fix it. He and mum are too busy 'bonding' with their _new_ Harry."

"Bitter, much?" Draco asked, smirking.

Damien shook his head.

"I don't have any problems with him spending time with mum and dad. I can understand his feelings. I'm not even mad at him, it's not his fault. Its mum and dad I'm mad at. They seem to have momentarily forgotten that _their_ son is trapped in another world. All they seem to do lately is talk to Harry, spend time with him, eat with him, shop with him." Damien sighed deeply.

"Did you get the phone back from your dad yet?" Draco asked.

"No, he's still funny with me." Damien answered miserably.

"You Potters," Draco admonished. "You sure know how to keep a grudge."

Damien agreed whole heartedly. It had now been almost two weeks since Harry's truth had been revealed. Since then, his dad had barely spoken to him.

"I can tell it's going to be a lousy Christmas." Damien groaned.

"Ditto" Draco replied.

Damien looked at the blond haired boy and felt his heart skip a beat. His parents were still in hospital and there had been no improvement in their condition.

"Draco, are you sure you don't want me to tell Harry. He'll be mad if he finds out I kept it from him." Damien asked.

"What possible good will come from telling Harry?" Draco asked with a sigh. He had already explained why he didn't want Harry to know about his parents. "If you tell him my mother and father were attacked and are now in a coma, one which doesn't look like they will ever recover from, what can Harry do to fix it? He can't do anything. Even if he were here, there isn't anything he or anyone else can do." Draco's face showed the pain he was in for a moment. "It's best if he doesn't know. He'll only get upset and that's probably not a good thing."

Damien agreed but still felt bad for Draco. He couldn't tell his best friend about the possibly worst thing that had happened to him.

"Is there no change to their…condition?" Damien asked.

Draco shook his head.

"No, no change." He said quietly. "I just wish I could find out exactly what happened to them. The Healers still can't figure out what caused them to go into shock. The coma is self induced, as far as they can tell. I just wish I could find out who attacked my parents." Draco's hands clenched into fists.

"We'll find who it was, Draco. The Aurors are looking for the culprit." Damien tried to comfort him.

Draco sneered at the mention of the Aurors.

"Aurors, worthless waste of space they are!" his grey eyes turned cold and hard. "If I find whoever is responsible, I'll kill him!" he turned to Damien. "Or I'll tell Harry what happened and let him to the honours."

--

_**Canon World **_

Harry watched as the door to the Room of Requirement opened and a few more students wondered inside. He groaned slightly to himself as he watched Luna Lovegood skip her way into the room and join the large group of students sitting down.

There were now around twenty five students sitting before him, excluding Ron and Hermione. Harry recognised most of them. There was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain; Angelina, Ron's twin brothers; Fred and George, the boy that usually hung out with them; Lee, the pretty girl that kept trying to talk to Harry; Cho Chang, a curly haired girl that kept whispering to her, Dean and much to Harry's chagrin, Neville. The Patil twins were sitting next to Ginny, who was sitting with a boy Harry didn't recognise. Next to them were the two Creevey brothers. Harry eyed the youngest of the brothers and had the sudden urge to blast him from the room. The mousey haired boy smiled weakly at Harry making Harry forcefully look away from him. The rest, Harry knew by face but not by name.

Hermione cleared her throat catching everyone's interest. She shuffled to the front and stood up, standing next to Harry.

"Well, thank you for coming." She started in a nervous voice. "We all know why we're here. I'm sure you'll all agree that the current situation with our Defence Against the Dark Arts class is getting out of hand. If things continue as they are, we'll all fail miserably." Hermione had to take a breath to get a hold of herself. "I think the only thing we can do is take matters into our own hands. If the Ministry won't let us learn Defence properly then we have to study it ourselves."

There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd. Harry watched as the curly haired friend of Cho made a face at Hermione and turned to glare at Cho, who in turn was ignoring her.

"You do realise that what you're planning on doing violates Umbridge's Educational Decree, right?" Fred asked.

Hermione gaped at him, surprised that it was him raising this point.

"Yes, of course, but…"

"Alright, just checking." Fred interrupted, giving the girl a cheeky wink.

Hermione huffed at him and then continued.

"I know that this is risky and if caught, we all could be expelled. But this matter is more important that school." This caught everyone's attention. A few even dropped their mouths open in shock. Never did they think such words would come out of Hermione Granger's mouth. "This is more important because…because…" she took a deep breath, "because You-Know-Who is back,"

Harry watched amused, as the reaction rippled through the crowd. Neville let out a squeak, Angelina looked like she was about to faint. Parvati and Padma covered their mouths with their hands and looked outraged at Hermione.

"He is back and we need to learn how to defend ourselves, now more than ever." Hermione continued, looking at her fellow students.

"If he is back, then why is the Ministry not admitting it?" a blond haired boy asked.

"Because they are scared." Hermione answered simply.

The boy made a face, as if to say that was a stupid answer. Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

"So, how are we going to learn complex spells by ourselves?" Parvati asked.

Hermione looked nervously at Harry.

"Well, this is where…Harry, comes into the picture." She took two tiny steps nearer to him. "He can teach us."

The students all stared at Harry; some like Neville and Ginny were smiling and nodding their heads at him, others had sceptical looks on their faces.

"Do you know much more than us?" Dean asked, although the question was asked innocently and held no aggression.

"Just a bit." Harry answered.

"Well, just a bit more isn't going to help us, is it?" the same blond boy asked with a scornful look at Harry.

"Manners! and who the hell are you?" Ron asked with a glare.

"Zacharias Smith," the boy answered. "And I'm not being rude just honest." He turned back to look at Harry. "Either you know enough that will help us all pass Defence or you don't." he added.

Hermione looked worriedly at Harry and then back at Zacharias.

"Look, Harry knows enough to help us. You all remember the tasks he had to go through last year in the Triwizard Tournament! And the year before that, he had to learn how to cast the Patronus charm to fight off the Dementors that were targeting him."

"Is that true? I thought that was just a rumour!" Dean asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Yes, it is true. I saw his Patronus myself." Hermione said with a nod.

Harry prayed she shut up soon. If they asked to see his Patronus, boy would they be in for a surprise.

"Wow, I never knew you could do that!" Hannah Abbott said with a smile.

Harry avoided looking at her at all. It was only a few months ago that he had obliviated her and her parents after that Death Eater attack. Of course she didn't remember anything about that day.

"I really think we can learn a lot from Harry." Hermione said, her voice clear and strong now. "He's had a lot of couching and training during his past few summers. He can help us."

"Let's do this!" Lee yelled, making most of the others jump in surprise.

"Yeah, even if we learn squat, it'll annoy toad face!" George agreed.

There was a general agreement to this.

"So, what do we do?" Angelina asked.

"Well, we'll come up with a schedule and we'll meet here, in this room. It'll be perfect for our class." Hermione said with an excited smile.

"Just make sure it doesn't clash with our Quidditch practise!" Zacharias said.

"As if that will help you win." Angelina muttered loud enough for him to hear.

"And you have to make sure we have enough time off for other, commitments." Fred said with a wink to George and Lee.

"But, this is important…!" Hermione insisted.

"So is Quidditch!" a few voices echoed.

"We can't spend all our time doing something that is most likely pointless. There is no proof that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back. It's only his word." Zacharias said, with a nod in Harry's direction. "We don't know for sure. We could be just wasting our time!"

Hermione looked at Harry in time to see him give Zacharias a smile, not an innocent, sweet smile, but a smile that sent chills up her spine. His hand rose and he made a sweeping gesture with it. Suddenly Zacharias skid along the floor and smashed painfully into the wooden door. The blond haired boy let out a cry and lay dazed by the impact.

Every eye turned to stare horrified at Harry.

"Oops! My bad," Harry said dryly, lowering his hand. "I forgot to open the door first."

Hermione had to remind herself to breathe as she saw Harry's focus land on the remaining students, who were now eerily quiet and staring back at Harry.

"Let me just say one thing to all of you," Harry started, taking one step towards the sitting students. "This isn't a class, it isn't a club or a group or a society of any sort. This is purely and simply, learning how to survive. So it doesn't matter if it clashes with Quidditch or with some brilliant but dumb scheme to pull a prank." His icy emerald greens rested on the troublesome Gryffindor trio. "If you don't want to do this, join Smith there by the door and get out because I'm not wasting any time on you."

Hermione swallowed nervously and turned her head to look at the students. Zacharias had sat up by now and was glaring hatefully at Harry.

"If you believe that learning how to defend yourself is 'pointless' and is a 'waste of time', go and spend your time flying around on broomsticks and throwing a ball around. It doesn't matter. Because when the war truly starts, you'll be dead before long. That is if Voldemort isn't feeling bored, because then, you'll be tortured for months." the name sent tremors of fear down everyone's backs but not a gasp was heard. Everyone was too busy listening to Harry. Neville looked paler than before but his gaze was fixed on Harry.

"As for proof, the only proof you need to know that Voldemort is back is at Granule Cemetery, where the seventeen year old, _dead_, Cedric Diggory will tell you all you need to know about what Voldemort can do." Harry continued.

Hermione could feel the prickle of tears in her eyes. She looked at Cho and saw her silent stream of tears and had to look away.

"Learning how to defend yourself isn't an extracurricular activity. It's compulsory. Treat it as such and you'll survive." Harry finished.

Silence met the end of his words. Finally, Harry looked over to the door and saw Zacharias standing on his feet by now.

"You obviously have better things to do," Harry told him. "Get out."

The boy stood motionless for a moment, just staring at Harry. His face was pink with humiliation but his expression showed his confusion too. At last he reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open before leaving.

The door clicked closed and everyone brought their attention back to the two Gryffindors standing before them.

"Ahem, well, okay then." Hermione started, clearing her throat. "I'll work out a schedule then and I'll try to make it as fitting as I can, so you won't have to miss much."

The group gave small nods and whispers of affirmative.

"Was that wandless magic you used to throw Smith across the room?" Lee asked bravely.

"Yes" Harry answered simply. "I learnt it over the summer." He explained. He was telling the truth. He had learned wandless magic over the summer months. He just didn't specify which _year's_ summer.

"That was…wow. That was cool!" the boy next to Ginny said with a nervous sort of grin.

"Michael!" Ginny whispered, looking surprised at him.

"What? It was cool!" the boy, Michael, whispered back.

"Are you going to teach us that?" Colin Creevey asked, wearing such a large grin, Harry was sure it hurt.

"Possibly." Harry answered. "It depends."

"On what?" Justin asked.

"How well you pick up the basics." Harry answered.

The group fell quiet after that. Harry could see the awe and surprise on their faces. Most looked excited at being taught by Harry, others looked almost afraid.

"We should have a name." Ginny suddenly said, staring at Harry.

"A name?" Parvati asked.

"For this group. We have to have a name." Ginny explained.

"It's a good idea. It will give us a sense of unity." Hermione said aloud.

"Okay, what about Umbridge-Is-Useless club? UIU?" Lee suggested.

"Hmm, tempting but I think it should be something that doesn't give us away." Ron said.

"How about, The-Ministry-Are-Idiots-Who-Can't-See-What's-Facing-Them-Unless-It-Hexes-The-Crap-Out-Of-Them-First!" Fred suggested.

"Eh? No!" Hermione said with an annoyed look.

Slowly the group started getting carried away, coming up with a name for their rebel group.

"How about something simple, like The-Defence-Association?" asked Cho.

"I like that; The DA. Sounds good!" Angelina said.

"Yeah, DA! But why don't we make it stand for Dumbledore's Army? After all, that is what the Minister is afraid of? It would be fitting." Ginny suggested.

Harry looked up at the mention of that. He smiled.

"Let's take a vote." Hermione suggested. "Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione asked.

Every hand shot in the air.

"Passed!" Hermione said with a smile. "We are Dumbledore's Army." She chuckled at that, making others join in. "It's perfect!"

Harry smiled to himself. It was perfect. Perfect name for what he was planning. Perfect indeed.

xxx

The days slowly passed by and before Harry knew it, it was a week later and he was to start his first lesson of the DA.

"Now, remember what I said, Harry. Be patient, be clear in your instructions and no matter what, don't knock anyone against the walls!" Hermione told him as they made their way to the seventh floor.

"Hermione, will you stop!" Harry asked for the fifth time in the last hour.

"I'm sorry, Harry but you really can't go around knocking people into walls." she admonished. "I 'm surprised Zacharias didn't tell on us. I half expected him to after the way he was humiliated." She looked upset for him.

"He probably knew he would be in more trouble if he did." Ron offered.

"He was only going to waste time. He wasn't really there to learn anything. I can tell his sort. It's better that he's gone." Harry said dismissively.

"Well, I'm glad he didn't tell anyone about what we're up to. I don't want to see what would have happened." Hermione said.

"Hermione, don't be so scared. Umbridge can't do anything to us." Harry told her.

"No, it's not like that. I'm not scared. It's just that I did this spell on the parchment that everyone signed their name onto. If anyone tells on us or exposes the group, then…well, let's just say they'll regret it."

Harry looked over to her.

"What spell did you use?" he asked, intrigued.

"Let's just say, they won't be able to face anyone." She smiled hesitantly at her own words.

"You know, you scare me a little, Hermione." Ron said from beside her.

The trio reached the Room of Requirement and Harry pushed open the door to see his 'students' already waiting inside.

They all looked up at Harry, eager and anxious all at once.

Ron and Hermione joined the rest and stood to face Harry, who was standing before them. After making sure that everyone was present, Harry turned to the door and locked it, giving them their privacy as well as secrecy.

He faced the twenty six students, his stomach flipped with nervousness. No matter if he admitted it or not, he was a bit nervous to teach so many people.

"Alright, let's start." Harry said. "Everyone; split into pairs."

The twenty six students obeyed at once and paired up; Ron with Hermione, Fred with Angelina, George with Lee, Ginny with Michael, Parvati with Lavender and so on. Harry waited patently until they were ready.

"Okay, the first thing I'm going to do is teach you to bring up your magical shields." he saw the faces fall of some of the students.

"We know the basics; can't you start with wandless magic?" Lee asked excitedly.

"No," Harry responded simply. He saw the way the students were looking at each other, disappointed and even annoyed. He took a step forward. "The basics are the most difficult. If you master them, you can build yourself to perform almost any spell, hex or charm."

They still didn't look satisfied.

"You can learn to perform the most complicated of spells, but it's pointless if you can't defend yourself from the simplest of them." Harry said.

That got their attention. They looked among themselves and realised Harry had a point.

"Alright, form two lines. Face your partners."

They did as he said.

"You guys," Harry motioned to the line on his right. "You are the attackers. You guys," he pointed at the line on his left, "you have to defend yourselves against the attack." He faced the 'attackers' and smiled at the smug looks they were wearing. "Cast the disarming spell only, okay. No Unforgivables."

Everyone laughed at that. Harry saw Hermione give him a smile.

"Okay, after three. One, two, three, Go!" Harry prompted.

The room was suddenly filled with shouts of 'Expellarimus!' and bright lights zoomed across the room. Out of the thirteen people defending themselves, only three managed to bring up their shield. The rest were now standing without there wands, looking dazed.

Harry grit his teeth. 'Pathetic!' he mentally berated them. He forced himself to relax. He should have expected this.

"Okay, that was…well, terrible." He said as the ashamed looking students collected their wands from their respective partners. "You guys know when the attack was coming; you knew exactly when it was happening and where the attack is coming from. You should be able to block that!"

"I'm only in second year; I don't know how to bring up a shield." Dennis told him.

Harry looked at him for a minute before looking away, offering no response.

"Well, let's try…again." He said. "Just concentrate on bringing up your shield. Imagine that your magic can become solid for a moment and you want it to protect you. Bring it out of your wand and shield yourself." Harry instructed, as clearly as he could.

They tried again. This time five got it right. The others looked frustrated and annoyed as they gathered their wands from their partners.

They kept at it, again and again, Harry tried to explain to them how to call forth their magic and how to perform the spell. Gradually the students began to pick up and take Harry's instructions on board. In a matter of half an hour, all thirteen students were able to bring up their shield. Some still got caught off by the speed of the spell. They could bring up their shield, just not in time to block the spell.

"Aright, swap over now." Harry told them. The previous 'attackers' didn't look too smug now.

"Harry, I don't see how this is of any help." Justin said as he prepared to defend himself. "I mean, it's not as if we will ever be attacked by just one Death Eater. I've heard that when they attack, they attack in groups. A small shield isn't going to block numerous attacks. So, really, when are we going to use it? A one-to-one duel? How likely is that?"

Everyone stared at Justin and then at Harry. Justin suddenly looked nervous.

"I'm…I'm just saying…." He mumbled.

"Justin, come here." Harry instructed.

Justin definitely looked scared now. He walked over to him regardless. Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione.

"Ron, Hermione, you too." They obeyed and joined Justin, looking confused. Harry surveyed the room again. "Fred, Angelina and Dean." He gestured them to join the small group. "Form a circle." He instructed. The six students looked at each other in growing confusion. The rest were watching without blinking an eye, engrossed in what Harry was up to.

Harry walked into the circle the six had formed.

"On my count of three, each of you throw a spell at me, at the same time."

"What?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Is this a joke?" Fred asked a grin on his face, thinking Harry had finally lost it.

"Justin is right. Death Eaters do attack in groups. The six of you, attack me. Okay?" Harry said.

"Not okay." Angelina said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can get hurt. And I'm not losing my Seeker. We need to win the cup this year!"

"Angie, shut up!" Dean said.

"Do what I'm telling you. On a count of three," Harry said. "One, two, three."

Despite their hesitance, the six reluctant teens threw the disarming spell at Harry. At once, six jets of light rushed to hit Harry. Before all of them, Harry flicked his wand and suddenly a shimmering blue bubble appeared, covering him from head to foot. The six spells hit the wall of the bubble and disappeared.

Harry stood in the middle of the circle, his full body shield still in place and covering him. Finally, Harry lowered his wand, ending the spell. He smiled at the gob-smacked expression almost everyone was wearing. No one had uttered a single word. Harry turned to face an open mouthed Justin.

"Once you've learned how to bring up your shield successfully, you can manipulate it so it protects you, no matter the number of attackers." Harry told him.

"That…that was…I never knew you could do that!" Lavender said breathlessly.

"Like I said, master the basics, you can do anything." Harry answered back with a smirk. He motioned to the six students still surrounding him to go back to their places. "Okay, let's get back to bringing up shields." He instructed, noting the sudden increased vigour from his students.

xxx

The weeks went by and Harry found himself getting caught up with his DA lessons. Hermione managed to work out a schedule where there was at least one lesson a week. It was now the beginning of November and the cold, wet, weather gave the students more of a reason to stay inside and practise their lessons from Harry.

Harry found that despite his 'aggressive' behaviour with Zacharias, no one showed any fear towards him. He found that quite annoying in all truth.

"They just assume you've had enough of everyone walking all over you." Hermione told him one evening, as they sat next to the roaring fireplace. "They believe that you did face…You-Know-Who and it's affected you to the point you've become aggressive and focused on becoming strong to fight him."

"Do girls have the answer to everything?" Ron asked in awe.

"No, I overheard Dean and Justin talking about it last week." Hermione said, scanning through her essay.

"Oh, right." Ron said slightly pink faced now.

"It is going rather well, though." Hermione said, facing Harry; her excitement showing. "I mean last week, nearly everyone managed to bring up full body shields. I mean it's still nothing more than a wisp of smoke that can't block anything, but it's something."

Harry gave her a look.

"Don't start congratulating yourselves just yet, Hermione. You've all got a long way to go before you can deem yourself as 'successful'. There's plenty to learn yet."

Somehow, this just seemed to excite Hermione even more.

"I can't wait!" she whispered, more to herself.

Ron shared a look with Harry before shaking his head and returning to his textbook. "Guess who I overheard talking about the DA?" he asked Harry, eyes still fixed on his Transfiguration textbook.

Harry shrugged.

"Zacharias Smith." Ron said, looking up at Harry with a smirk.

"Really? Who was talking to?" Hermione asked, dropping her foot long parchment.

"He was asking Dean how the classes were going and what they had learnt so far. Sounds like the git is regretting being thrown out." Ron sniggered.

Hermione bit her lip and looked pleadingly at Harry.

"Don't bother asking, Hermione. The answer is no." Harry said.

"But, he sounds like he's sorry." Hermione said.

"It doesn't matter to me." Harry said matter-of-factly. "He had better things to do, so he is welcome to doing them."

Hermione looked saddened but she didn't fight Smith's case any further. She went back to her essay and the next few minutes were spent in silence.

"To give Smith his due, I don't think a lot of people that turned up that first day, came to learn Defence." Ron said, breaking the silence.

Hermione perked up at once.

"That's true. A lot of students that came only did so to hear you talk about…about, him. I realise that now." she said, shooting Harry an apologetic look. "I mean, I know Fred and Gorge came to support you, Cho came, well, that's obvious" she shot Harry a sly look. "She can't seem to stop looking at you."

"I noticed." Harry said dryly, still looking at his parchment, adding final touches to his own homework.

Hermione pushed on.

"The Creevey brothers came since they both adore you, Luna came, probably thinking we were hunting Nargles or something. Michael came because of Ginny and Parvati came with…"

"Whoa! Wait a minute. Go back to Michael who came because of Ginny?!" Ron said, dropping his textbook completely. "Why would he do that?"

Harry was staring at Hermione too, his quill grasped tightly in his hand.

"You know, because he's dating Ginny." Hermione answered nonchalantly.

The quill in Harry's hand snapped.

"What!" Ron erupted. "_She's dating!_ When did this happen?" he demanded.

"About two months ago." Hermione said calmly.

Ron's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Two months! Two months! I can't believe this! Why didn't she tell me?" Ron asked.

"She probably forgot." Hermione said.

"Yeah, right!" Ron snarled. "She knew I wouldn't let her, that's why she didn't tell me. Michael Corner! I don't like him! There's something wrong about him."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know yet." Ron answered heatedly.

"For goodness sake, Ron!" Hermione huffed. "This is why Ginny never said anything to you. There is nothing wrong with Michael. He is perfectly nice and Ginny says she's happy with him. It's not up to you when and whom she can date. She is old enough…"

"She's fourteen!" Ron said.

"Exactly! Fourteen. She is old enough to make her own dating decisions." Hermione told him.

"I heard that Michael liked Cho." Ron said in confusion.

Hermione looked over at Harry as the girl was mentioned. She noted the strange look on his face. It was almost like…anger?

"Yeah, well, every boy likes Cho." She said distractedly.

Harry's hands were balled into fists. He met Hermione's eyes and she saw his eyes had darkened, just by a shade.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron for the moment. "Are you okay?"

"Fine" Harry bit out. He suddenly got up. "I need to go and make a _call_." He left the common room, disappearing up the steps.

Hermione turned to look at Ron, who was still wearing a scornful look.

"Oh my God! I know who Harry's girlfriend is!" she told him excitedly.

"What?!" Ron asked.

"In his own…_world_," Hermione whispered. "Harry said he had a girlfriend and that maybe we knew her. He got all upset when you mentioned how Michael liked Cho. Ron, Harry's girlfriend is Cho Chang!"

Ron looked like he couldn't care less.

"Big deal! I need to figure out how to get Ginny away from _Michael_." Ron hissed the name with fierce dislike.

"Oh wake up, Ron. You interfere and Ginny will eat you alive and you know it." Hermione told him.

Ron opened his mouth to argue but then quickly shut it again. Hermione looked back at the staircase leading to the boy's dormitory and smiled.

"He's probably talking to Cho right now." she gushed.

xxx

"What are you talking about?"

Harry grabbed the phone tightly in his hand.

"Michael Corner?" he asked again. "Know who he is?"

"Erm," came Ginny's voice. "I think he might be in Ravenclaw, why?"

"Because you're dating him." Harry told his girlfriend over the phone.

"What?" Ginny giggled. "I am?"

"Don't laugh, Ginny." Harry warned. "I'm really pissed off about this."

"Okay, I'll make it better. I'm so sorry I'm cheating on you in another dimension." Ginny said, her tone light and mocking.

"This isn't funny!" Harry insisted.

"Yes, it is." Ginny laughed. "You're getting all bent out of shape about something I have no control over."

"No, I'm not." Harry said. "I didn't call to blame you; even I'm not that stupid!"

"You had me wondering." admitted Ginny.

Harry ignored her.

"I called to ask if…if you ever did date Corner? You know, before me?"

Ginny was quiet for a few moments.

"Harry, I met you when I was fourteen. After the day you saved my life, I got so hung up on finding you, I didn't bother with any other guy, no matter how interested they were in me." She added for Harry's benefit.

"So, are you saying that I'm your first boyfriend?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Oh, Harry!" Ginny laughed. "Merlin, no!" she laughed harder. "You are so adorable for thinking that!"

Harry pulled a face.

"So, you did have other boyfriends?" Harry asked.

"Of course I did. I'm _normal_." Ginny teased.

"That's what you say but I have my doubts." Harry teased back.

"Harry, before you flew spectacularly into me life, I did have other relationships. But they were just silly little crushes and infatuations. You know; the kind that every person has from the age of eleven."

Harry found himself smile despite himself.

"But after I met you, my life just changed. You may not have been my first boyfriend but you are my first love. First and last." She added softly at the end.

Harry didn't say anything to that but felt himself calm down considerably. He didn't know what happened to him, the thought of Ginny with anyone else but him made fire erupt inside him.

"You really thought you were my first boyfriend?" Ginny asked with a laugh.

"I never really gave it much thought, to be honest." Harry admitted.

Ginny giggled again.

"Well, at least I know about you. I know that I'm your first _and last_ girlfriend." she teased. She knew she was. Taking in Harry's past, she didn't think Voldemort would allow Harry to have a social life or any opportunities that may have led to him dating.

Harry smirked.

"You sure about that?"

"Why? Did you have a girlfriend before me?" Ginny asked, sounding worried now.

"What do you reckon?" Harry asked.

Ginny didn't answer for a few minutes.

"You're messing with me, aren't you?" Ginny asked finally.

"Maybe." Harry teased.

"Whatever! It's not as if I care anyway!" Ginny said, sounding very much like she did care. "All that matters is that you love me now." she paused for a minute. "Um, Harry, this is the point you tell me you love me!"

Harry laughed.

"I love you, Ginny. I really do." He told her.

"I love you too." Ginny returned. "So, this Michael, is he the really cute one with dark hair?"

"Do you _want_ me to hurt him?" Harry asked exasperated.

xxx

It was a cold, grey morning and the Great Hall was packed full of students and Professors, readily enjoying their warm breakfast. Harry was in deep conversation with Hermione and Ron, discussing the success of the DA.

"It really is going very well." Hermione said grinning widely. "Did you notice last night how much everyone had improved with their aim? Even Luna was paying attention to you and was doing rather well!"

Harry didn't respond and continued enjoying his porridge.

"You should be proud, Harry. I think you're doing a wonderful job." Hermione added.

"I told you before, a long way to go before you should congratulate anyone." Harry told her, irritably.

"Uh-oh, the Professor is in a foul mood, again. What's up?" Ron asked from beside Hermione.

"I'm not in a mood. I just don't agree that everyone has improved." He gestured to Neville, sitting about ten seats away. "He still can't hit his target, and it's only a yard or so away from him. It's pathetic."

Hermione looked at Neville with a sympathetic look.

"He's trying, Harry. Give him time." she whispered.

"He's not trying, and if he is then he's not trying hard enough." Harry answered.

"That's a bit harsh, mate." Ron said.

"That's life." Harry answered. "If he wants to learn, he better pay attention and try like his life depends on it. That's the only way he'll learn, the only way anyone will learn."

Hermione silently studied him, her lips pressed tightly together.

"What?" Harry asked, noting her stare.

"Nothing, I sometimes forget, you know, about you and where you come from." Her voice betrayed her sadness. "The reminder is always a little hard to take in."

Harry just stared at her before shrugging his shoulders, failing to find anything to say to her. It was at that moment the owls flew in over head, carrying the mail, all wet from the rain outside.

A brown owl landed before Hermione and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of her. Ron chuckled at the wet rolled up newspaper.

"I don't think you'll be reading much today, Hermione." He joked.

She only threw him an annoyed look before dropping a Knut into the owl leather pouch and letting the drenched owl fly back outside.

"Really, they should have a 'stay-dry' spell on the papers. This is just ridiculous!" Hermione muttered.

Ron whispered to Harry,

"Is there such a thing as a 'stay-dry' spell?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure there isn't." Harry answered.

"Thought so." Ron muttered.

Harry looked over at Hermione and saw her looking at the front page with something akin to horror. A sudden hush fell over the hall, a stifling silence that was only punctuated by a few gasps and low whispers.

Harry looked back at Hermione as she stared at the newspaper in her grip.

"Hermione?"

She looked up at him and Harry could see the look of fear in her brown orbs.

"Harry! It's terrible." She whispered.

Without saying anything more, she lowered the paper flat on the table and turned it around so Harry could read it. Or he could have read it if the ink hadn't smudged with the rain. But Harry didn't need to read the headline or even the article to see what was causing the reaction.

Taking up most of the front page was individual pictures, snapshots, of ten people. The Headline had two words that were fairly easy to make out, 'Azkaban' and 'Escapees'.

Harry felt his stomach turn as he took a closer look at the escaped Death Eaters and saw familiar faces. There was Dolohov and Rookwood both looking ghastly, pale faces with wild, unkempt hair and beards.

Harry scanned the pictures of the nine men. But when he came to the tenth picture he felt like his heart had been wrenched out of his chest. He stared at the picture of a witch, with heavy lidded eyes. Her usually shiny dark hair was now long, straggly and unkempt. She had her usual arrogant, disdainful smile on her face although Harry could never have imagined seeing it on such a thin and pale face. It was only her eyes and smile that struck Harry hard so he was able to recognise her. Azkaban had taken away her beauty, as it had with Sirius, and left her looking ghastly and gaunt.

"Oh God!" Harry gasped as he stared at the photo.

"Bella!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, so that's Lucius and Bella, only one more family member to go! Save the best for last, eh? ;)

Please review!! Cheers!!


	26. Fathers and Sons

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Sorry I took so long to update. I've been really ill. But to make up for it the chapter is extra long!! Thank you to all those who reviewed! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Warning! A major cliffhanger! Don't say I never warned you! :)

**Chapter Twenty Six**

_**AU World **_

Hogwarts was dressed up for Christmas. The Great Hall was beautifully decorated, with twelve enormous Christmas trees glistening with lights and decorations, sparkly glitter covered the marble floors and even the walls were decorated with tinsel and holly.

Damien watched as the tiny charms Professor Flitwick, swished his wand and more tinsel floated up and attached itself to the wall.

"Damien, are you sure about this?"

The boy turned his gaze back to his friend and nodded his head.

"Yeah, absolutely." He returned.

The two were the only ones sitting at their house table. A few students from other houses were scattered around their respective houses, chatting with each other about the approaching holiday. Most of the students were outside, enjoying their weekend.

Hermione gazed at the wooden box in front of her with awe and barely hidden excitement. She ran her hand over the top of the wooden lid with care.

"I'll guard it with my life, Damien. You can be sure of that."

Damien nodded his head again and looked at the box.

"Do you think there's a chance you will be able to figure out what's wrong with it?" he asked.

Hermione looked concerned as she dropped her gaze back to the box.

"Honestly, I don't know. My Runes project has given me a more in depth knowledge on them but I don't know if that will be enough. But I have the resources at hand for me to research them thoroughly. Once I figure out what all the runes on the compass stand for, I can research the compass in more depth and I maybe, hopefully, be able to figure out why it stopped working."

Damien knew it was a long shot. Hermione had only just recently graduated from Hogwarts and her project on Runes was nowhere as near as complex as the dimension travelling compass. But he refused to sit back and waste anymore time. He was going to get all the help he could to try and fix the compass so his brother could come back home.

"Well, you should take it and see what you can find out. It's not doing any good sitting in my trunk." Damien told her.

Hermione looked concerned again and turned her brown eyes to Damien.

"And you're sure your mum and dad won't mind that I've taken the compass?"

Damien scoffed at her.

"As if they'll even notice. They haven't even asked to see the thing. Ever since finding out about the truth, they're too busy with their new son to care about what's happening to their old one!"

"Damy, you know that's not true." Hermione said.

"I wish it wasn't," Damien whispered. In a louder voice he carried on "They're not going to do anything about the compass. It's best if you take it and find out what you can."

Hermione didn't say anything but lifted the box holding the golden compass and carefully put it into her bag.

"Let me know if you need it back at all." Hermione said before getting to her feet.

"okay." Damien replied without conviction.

Hermione left quietly, leaving Damien sitting alone at the table.

xxx

Harry resisted the urge to fidget in his seat and kept his gaze on the polished desk, with the numerous silver trinkets. It had been two weeks since his truth had been revealed but Harry had spent all that time in his parent's quarters, not leaving it since he looked like himself and not the Harry of this universe. But this morning when James told him they both had to go and see the Headmaster, Harry couldn't reject the invitation. He was rather glad to have an excuse to leave the confinements of the living quarters.

But now that he was seated in Dumbledore's office, opposite the Headmaster himself, he felt uncomfortable and awkward. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice as he was busy talking with James.

"I have enquired about the compass or _the Kayanat _as is it's proper name, but all that I have managed to find is vague mentions of it in various books. I am awaiting a response from a dear old friend of mine who has more knowledge on the subject of dimension travel than myself." His blue eyes settled on Harry, making the boy shift again, "although he didn't believe me that someone had managed to do just that. He claims that it takes an exceptional amount of power to activate the Kayanat."

James, despite the situation, couldn't help but feel a little proud. His son did have a flair for doing things that were unheard of. He shook it off and nodded at Dumbledore.

"I appreciate it, Dumbledore."

The Headmaster now had his attention on Harry and was studying him closely.

"As I understand it, the world you come from, is very different to this one. Am I right?" he asked.

Harry cleared his throat.

"Yes, sir. Very different."

At being addressed as 'sir' by Harry, Dumbledore seemed to be taken aback momentarily. He recovered and a small smile graced his face.

"I would be very grateful if I could talk to you and learn about your life, Mr Potter. Alas, time does not permit such discussions. I would hope to see you over the holidays and perhaps speak to you in detail then, if that is acceptable."

Harry nodded his head.

"Yes, sir. Of course."

"I was wondering," James spoke up. "Would you be able to change Harry's appearance again? It's just that he's been stuck in his room since he can't walk around Hogwarts looking like himself."

Dumbledore inclined his head and looked over at Harry.

"I should be able to replace the glamour, if that is what you want?" he asked Harry.

Harry didn't mind. He would have preferred to look like himself but by having the glamour back on, he would be free to walk around again.

"Yes, sir." He answered.

"Very well." Dumbledore picked up his wand and pointed it at Harry.

xxx

Damien was sitting before his mum, listening to her lecture, again. He was starting to get really fed up with the constant reminders of how he had failed their trust. How many times did he have to say he was sorry?

"Are you listening?"

"Yes, mum."

"I expect you to be nothing but truthful with me and your father from now on, is that clear?" she asked.

Damien felt like rolling his eyes but refrained.

"Am I going to have to listen to this every time I ask for the phone?" he asked.

"Yes, because you have proven that you can't remember to be honest with us." Lily berated.

Damien huffed and mentally cursed at himself.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll never lie to you or dad again, now can I get the phone to call Harry?"

Lily looked at him, studying him for a moment. Finally she reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone.

"Half an hour, that's all." She reminded him.

"Yes, yes." Damien said taking the phone from her. He was going to let Harry have it for putting him in the mess.

He turned to leave just as the door opened and James walked inside, followed by Harry. Damien halted mid step and stared wide eyed at the boy walking in after his dad. A big smile spread over his face.

"Oh, thank God!" Damien cried out and rushed to Harry, throwing his arms around the taller boy. James and Lily stared at the sight. "You got back! I knew you would, thank God!" Damien repeated and hugged Harry fiercely.

"What? Oh, no, no, you think…" Harry pulled Damien out of the embrace. "It's still me, Harry. Professor Dumbledore redid the glamour, so I could, you know, walk around the castle again."

Damien seemed to deflate. The relieved smile was replaced by a disappointed frown.

"Oh, right." He said quietly.

Harry could feel how embarrassed Damien was just by looking at his expression. He looked so disappointed and more than a little upset.

"But I appreciated the love." Harry joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't work.

Damien just gave him an awkward look before glancing to his dad. James didn't comment and walked further into the room, ignoring the younger boy.

"I have to go." Damien mumbled before grabbing the door and pulling it open before rushing out of the room.

xxx

"So the glamour's back on?" Sirius asked, replacing his mug of tea on the table.

"Yep, Dumbledore reapplied it." James answered.

Sirius looked over at Harry, who was sitting with Lily at her desk, helping her organise her paperwork. It was the end of the semester and they were all going home for Christmas break tomorrow and so Lily did what she usually did at the end of each semester; tidy up her paperwork.

Sirius shook his head.

"He's not like Harry at all." he commented.

James smiled as he too looked at Harry.

"Yeah, I know."

"You look happy about it." Sirius said, taking another sip of his warm tea.

"He's different in a good way." James explained. "I mean, I love my son, but I can't deny that having this Harry, one who opens up and talks freely with me is not a welcome change."

Sirius nodded his head.

"I know what you mean. But it still freaks me out, how they both are Harry and yet, not the same."

James laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

"Tell me about it."

Sirius looked over at the smiling boy and felt his own lips twitch into a smile.

"I don't know what it is but he's so different. He's so…"

"…innocent." James finished. A look of sudden sadness filled his face. "I always imagined Harry would be like this." he admitted.

Sirius felt his heart skip a beat.

"Yeah, me too."

"I wish he could be like this. I wish I could bring back his innocence." James said with a heavy sigh.

"Prongs mate." Sirius could see how upset James had suddenly become. In an attempt to lighten the mood, Sirius did what he usually did; make jokes. "Keep this one." He said.

James looked up sharply at him.

"What?"

"I'm just saying. He's Harry too, just keep him. He's a much sweeter version anyway." He winked at James to show he was only joking. James' expression softened and he laughed.

"Yeah, okay." He played along. "I'm sure I can talk Lily into it."

"Lils won't have any problems." Sirius laughed and both men chuckled at their absurd talk.

A noise behind them made both men turn and the sight made their smiles slid off their faces.

Damien was standing at the door, an expression of disbelief on his face. It was clear; he had heard the last part of James and Sirius' conversation. Without being able to see their faces, he couldn't see that they were only having a laugh.

"Oh, pup, we were only joking." Sirius tried to explain.

But Damien didn't stay put to listen to him. With a disgusted look directed at his father, Damien turned and stormed back outside.

Lily and Harry heard the noise and turned to the door.

"Was that Damien? Where did he go?" Lily asked.

"I'll just go after him." Sirius said and bolted from his seat.

James stayed where he was. Knowing both his sons had inherited his stubbornness, he knew Damien wouldn't be listening to anything anyone said tonight.

xxx

Harry finished packing his things and struggled to close the lid on his trunk. It was packed full with just a third of the items he had received from his parents. Harry adjusted the new outdoor cloak around his shoulders and looked around his room with a smile. He was leaving Hogwarts for the Christmas break. Never before had he had a chance to leave the castle during the Christmas holidays. This year he was leaving to spend Christmas at home, with his family. He felt like he couldn't stop smiling as he picked up his heavy trunk and dragged it over to the door.

He opened the door to find James already standing in the corridor, his trunk floating alongside him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah" Harry answered with a bright smile.

James levitated Harry's trunk too and guided both towards the exit.

"Your mum's at the main doors, waiting for us." James informed Harry as they walked up the stone steps.

"Already?" Harry asked with surprise.

James chuckled before responding.

"She's wicked fast at packing."

Harry grinned as he walked along, side by side his dad and entered the main hall. He could see the few remaining residents of Hogwarts scattered around the hall. Majority of the students had left the castle yesterday and boarded the Hogwarts Express back to London to go home to their families. The Professors were scheduled to leave today.

Sure enough, Harry saw Lily waiting at the front doors, looking impatiently at them.

"Hurry up you two." She called to them as they got nearer.

"Where's Damien?" Harry asked as he reached his mum. He couldn't see the hazel eyed boy anywhere.

"He's waiting outside." Lily answered.

At James' sharp look she shook her head slightly, gesturing for him not to say anything. James complied but looked annoyed. Harry didn't say anymore and headed outside. The crisp cold weather made his cheeks turn red. He pulled his heavy winter cloak tightly around him to keep out the cold. He spotted the dark haired boy standing next to the gates. He hurried towards him, leaving James and Lily to follow.

"Hey, why are you waiting here in the cold?" Harry asked when he reached the boy.

Damien turned to look at him.

"I just needed air." He said simply.

"More like, chilled air. It's freezing!" Harry said, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah, December is like that." Damien replied without a hint of amusement.

Harry felt his smile falter but he quickly forced it to stay. He could tell Damien was in a foul mood. He wondered what had happened.

"Should we go?" Damien said, gesturing to the gates.

"Yeah, let's go." Harry returned and started walking alongside him.

Harry noticed the empty cage in Damien's hand.

"Where's Neelam?" he asked.

"I let her fly home. She doesn't like being in her cage." Damien replied, keeping his eyes cast on the ground.

Harry continued to make small talk with the boy but only got one worded answers in return. After a few minutes, Harry gave up hopes of engaging Damien in any sort of talk and fell silent.

"Right, this spot should be fine." James said catching up with two boys and gesturing them to the side of the street.

The four Potters gathered their luggage and held it tightly in their hands while Lily took a hold of Damien's hand and James held onto Harry.

"Have you ever apparated before?" James asked Harry.

"No" Harry answered honestly.

James smiled.

"It's pretty painless." James assured him, taking a firm grip of his hand.

"That's what they say about using the Floo." Harry mumbled.

"What's wrong with the Floo?" James asked.

"Nothing," Harry quickly said. "I guess I just don't like travelling. Now if I could fly all the way home…"

"Don't even think about it." Lily warned.

Harry shared a smile with James.

"Okay, here we go." prompted Lily.

Within a matter of seconds, Lily disappeared with a pop, taking with her the luggage and Damien.

Harry blinked at the spot her mum and Damien where standing at.

"We're next." James said with a grin.

Harry found himself holding his breath, sincerely hoping he it didn't hurt.

He felt a strange sensation wash over him. It felt like he was being squeezed through a very narrow tube. It made his ears pop and his teeth clench hard together. After a moment, the crushing feeling left him and he could breathe properly again. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of Potter Manor.

"How was it?" James asked, letting go of his hand.

"Weird, but painless." Harry answered. "Still, I prefer flying."

James laughed at that as he flicked his wand and levitated the luggage.

"I do too." He told him.

Harry walked into the Manor, James trailing him with the floating luggage, and found his mum in the kitchen.

"I think I'm going to have to go and pick up some supplies for lunch." She said as she peered into her cupboards. "I want to have something special. James, you want to come with me?"

"You're not asking are you?" James said.

"No" Lily smirked at him. "Like always, I'm telling you."

"Well, then, let's go and do some grocery shopping." James said with faked enthusiasm.

"Harry, will you be okay to stay here with Damien while we run to the shops?" Lily asked, grabbing her bag.

"Yeah, sure." Harry replied.

James leaned in closer to him and whispered.

"We won't actually be running anywhere. We're going to apparate there and back."

"Yeah, I got that." Harry whispered back.

James and Lily left after that, leaving Harry alone in the kitchen. Harry busied himself by unpacking his things and rearranging things in his room. He decided to check on Damien, partly because he was bored and partly because the boy had disappeared into his room the moment he returned.

Harry knocked on Damien's door and waited for it to be answered.

"I'm not hungry!" came the yelled response.

"It's me, Harry. Can I come in?" Harry replied.

A moment later the door opened and Damien appeared in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Damien asked.

"Nothing, mum and dad went out to the shops and I was just wondering if you wanted company?" Harry asked.

"I'm not in the mood for company." Damien said before closing the door in Harry's face.

Harry stood before Damien's door, a little blind sighted at the boy's rudeness. HeHe knew Damien was in a foul mood but that didn't mean he could take out his frustration on him.

Harry raised his hand to knock again but then changed his mind. There was no point in arguing with him. Harry turned and went back into his room, distracting himself with rearranging his things, again.

xxx

Christmas Eve was something Harry would never forget. He spent most of the day, putting up Christmas decorations all over the house with James, Lily and a very quiet Damien. The tree took almost most of the morning. Lily kept disapproving of James and Harry's decoration style.

"You're clumping all the decorations together!" she groaned. "And you're using too much tinsel."

"Lily, honey, you do know that having the perfect tree isn't what Christmas is about." James teased.

Lily only huffed at him.

Harry noted how quiet and disconnected Damien was throughout the day. He hardly spoke a word to anyone. He was relatively okay with his mum but seemed to ignore James, an action that was mirrored by the ex Auror. At Harry's attempts to make conversation, Damien would give one worded answers and nothing more. By that evening, Harry was well worked up. He walked into the kitchen where his mum and dad were preparing dinner.

"Dad, can I talk to you about something?" Harry started.

"Sure, what's up?" James asked, cleaning his hands with a dishcloth and taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"I know that I probably don't have any right to talk to you about this and you can tell me to mind my own business, but I want to talk to you regardless."

Harry now had both James and Lily's attention.

"We would never tell you to mind your own business, Harry." Lily said, looking affronted that he would even suggest such a thing.

Harry gave her a shy smile before fixing his gaze on James.

"I wanted to talk to you about Damien."

James' look of curiosity vanished and he looked like he was going to get up from the table. Harry quickly pushed on.

"I know that you're really mad at him and you have every reason to be so." James stayed put. "I can only imagine how upset you were that he lied to you." Harry continued.

"You don't understand, Harry," Lily said. "It's not the first time Damien has done this to us."

"I know, he told me." Harry answered. "It's just…I was there. I saw how much he tried to talk Harry out of staying in my world. I couldn't understand why he was so against the idea but I do now. He didn't want to lie to you; he didn't want to hide the truth from you."

"Then he shouldn't have." James said quietly.

"He made a mistake," Harry answered, just as quietly. "But isn't that what family is for? To forgive when one makes a mistake?"

James turned to look at Lily, both parents looking uncomfortable.

"Yes, but, what do you do when it's the same mistake again and again?" James asked.

"You forgive again and again." Harry answered simply. James and Lily didn't have a response to that. "What Damien did, he didn't do it to be nasty, or to be hurtful on purpose. He only did it because he wanted to do right by his brother. I know I would do the same if I had a brother. I know for a fact I would do the same for my friends because they are like my family." Harry said honestly.

James and Lily both were staring at Harry. After a pause, James cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.

"I can understand what Damien did and why he did it. I just wish he had come to me and told me."

Harry ducked his head and stared at the wooden table.

"That was my fault." he said quietly. "I…I was afraid that you wouldn't…you wouldn't want me here. I was afraid you would treat me like a stranger."

When Harry looked up he caught both looking immensely guilty and ashamed.

"Oh, Harry!" Lily walked over to him and hugged him, kissing his forehead. "I'm sorry. I really am." She gushed.

"It's okay." Harry quickly told her, pushing away the memory of that day when they had found out the truth. The way he had felt; a stranger, unwanted, it was awful. "It's understandable. You were scared for your son."

"You are also our son." Lily quickly told him.

Harry smiled again and let the words sink in. he looked back at James.

"I don't know how much longer I'm going to be here. But I know that I'll never forget my time here. It's something I had never even dreamt of." Both James and Lily smiled at him. "But I don't want to be responsible, even partly, for Damien's grief. I could tell how much you both mean to him but the way you are treating him is hurting him. I don't want that." He said, staring pointedly at James.

Lily looked meaningfully at James, a silent pleading in her eyes. James looked at Lily before looking at Harry. Slowly he let out a breath and dropped his head.

"Alright, I'll talk with Damien, clear up a few things." He said with a small smile.

Lily walked over to him and hugged him, whispering thanks in his ear.

"Thank you." Harry said sincerely, before getting up from the table.

xxx

Harry found Damien outside, flying on his broomstick. Harry grabbed the spare broomstick and kicked off the ground, joining him. Damien looked surprised by the addition and swerved around to face him.

"Hey!" Harry yelled over to him. "What are you doing out here in the cold?"

"Flying" Damien replied.

Harry laughed.

"Yeah, I got that."

Damien turned to fly in the opposite direction, away from Harry.

"Wait, Damy!" Harry called and flew towards him.

"What is it?" Damien asked.

"I think dad wants to talk to you." Harry said, unable to keep the smile away.

Damien didn't look pleased at all.

"The lecture can wait. I'm in no hurry to be told off, again." He returned.

"I don't think that's what he's going to do." Harry said, flying alongside him.

Damien shook his head.

"That's all he does lately. It's either a lecture and a telling off or it's no talking at all." He picked up speed. "Whatever, it's not as if I care either way!"

Harry gathered speed and caught up with the irate boy.

"How about a game then?" Harry asked, thinking it was best Damien calmed down before facing James.

Damien threw Harry a look but then shook his head.

"No, thanks." He bit out.

"Come on, we're already flying. We'll have a quick game." Harry insisted.

"Just leave, okay. I'm really not in the mood." Damien said, attempting to fly past Harry but the experienced Quidditch player blocked Damien.

"That's your answer to everything lately. Why aren't you in the mood?" Harry asked.

Damien didn't answer and instead tried to fly around Harry but was blocked again.

"Quit it!" Damien yelled annoyed.

"No, you've been funny with me ever since the last few days of Hogwarts! What did I do to piss you off?" Harry asked.

Damien changed tactics and turned his broom around and flew back to the ground. Harry was right behind him. Both boys reached the ground simultaneously. Damien was already making his way back to the Manor.

"Damien!" Harry yelled, running over to reach him. "Talk to me, what did I do?"

"Nothing! You've not done anything!" Damien seethed as he thundered over to the Manor.

"Then why are you acting like a jerk?" Harry asked.

Damien stopped and whirled around.

"Me? I'm the one acting like a jerk? What about you?" he spat.

"What about me?" Harry asked. "What did I do?"

"You're not supposed to be here!" Damien yelled out. "You should be back in your world, where you belong! That's what you've done!"

"What are you talking about?! You know it's not my fault I'm stuck here!" Harry yelled, feeling his heart thump painfully hard.

"You don't seem too broken up at the prospect of being stuck here!" Damien accused.

"What do you want me to do? Cry about it?" Harry asked, feeling his face heat up with anger.

Damien looked on the verge of hitting him. He balled his fists and glared at Harry. He pulled himself away from the boy and started walking towards the house.

"Hey, where are you going?" Harry said and started after him.

"Just go away, Harry." Damien seethed at him.

Damien and Harry both had reached the house and Damien nosily entered.

"Damien, at least explain why you think it's my fault I'm stuck here?" Harry asked, a lot quieter so James and Lily didn't hear them.

"No, you're right! It's not your fault, it's my fault, everything is my fault!" Damien spat at him before heading towards the stairs.

"I never said it was your fault, what's gotten into you?" Harry asked as he followed him.

"I'm sick of this! Sick of you being here, sick of being blamed all the time, sick of things always messing up!" Damien yelled. "Just for once, I want things to work out! I want things to be as they should!"

Harry stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at Damien.

"Damien…" Harry started.

"Just, forget it." Damien said and turned around, taking two steps at a time, disappearing into his room.

Harry stood at the staircase, feeling more miserable than ever.

xxx

"Why did you take it out on him?"

Damien paced the floor of his room, phone held tightly in his hand.

"What was I supposed to do?" he asked in return.

"Go and have a good workout, take it out on imaginary foes. That's what any self respecting idiot would do." Harry answered.

Damien let out a huff.

"I hate it when you do that." He said.

"Do what?" his brother asked.

"Make fun of serious situations." Damien answered.

The sound of Harry chuckling only made Damien angrier.

"Since when is you having a tantrum a 'serious' situation?" Harry asked.

"Piss off, Harry!" Damien raged.

The response he got was more laughing.

"Come on, Damy. You know you're acting like a prat." Harry said.

"You don't know anything." Damien seethed back. "Do you have any idea of what's going on here? Do you know that ever since finding out that you and Harry switched dimensions, mum and dad haven't even mentioned you because they are too busy with this Harry? Or that when they went Christmas shopping, they didn't buy you a single thing because they had to buy this Harry things? Or that dad and Sirius were talking about how much better it would be to leave you where you are and keep this Harry?! That this new Harry is better than you! No, you don't know anything!"

"Damy, this isn't a competition…"

"Yes it is! And you're losing!" Damien cried out. "You don't know what it's like here. Mum and dad are so happy with their new, sweet and nice Harry. Every day that goes by, they fall more and more in love with him! Soon, they're going to love him more than you!"

"So?"

The question threw Damien. He quietened down instantly.

"So what if they love him more? Is that going to stop me from coming back?" Harry asked in all seriousness. "Listen to me, Damy. This is my world. It's where I belong and nothing is going to stop me from coming back. So what if mum and dad prefer this other Harry? Does that mean they get to swap me and keep him? No, it doesn't."

"How are you going to come back?" Damien asked in a quieter but equally broken voice.

"I'll find a way. I always do." Harry assured him. "I got my family back after fifteen years. I'm not giving it up that easily."

Damien felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart.

"You swear?" he asked.

"All the time, but I'm trying to cut down." Harry joked.

Damien let out a small laugh and then sat down on his bed.

"Aren't you afraid that mum and dad might…forget you?" Damien asked.

"I thought they did once, and I couldn't have been more wrong." Harry said quietly. "I know that they haven't forgotten me, do you know why?"

"Why?" Damien asked.

"Because they call me, both of them, every day. Sometimes even twice in the day. Mum called me about an hour ago and asked me what I would like to eat tomorrow for Christmas. She said that she would cook it even if I wasn't there to eat it. How absurd is that?" Harry laughed.

Damien laughed too, that sounded like the mum he loved.

"They really call you?" Damien asked, feeling ashamed that he accused them of being neglectful of Harry.

"Every day." Harry confirmed. "I'm never going to blame them for something they are incapable of doing; forgetting me. I wrongfully accused them before; don't do the same, Damien."

Damien nodded his head.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…I just thought…the way they were acting I didn't know what to think." He said.

"They're just doing what they should, getting to know Harry. I expected you to do the same." Harry said.

"I already know him." Damien argued.

"Not completely." Harry countered.

"No, not completely." Damien agreed.

"Look, I promise I'll make a more conscious effort to get back. I'm bored of this place now anyway. I'll be back soon but until I am, try and refrain yourself from having three year old tantrums with Harry."

Damien laughed dryly at him.

"I wonder who I take after?" he mused.

"Not me, that's for sure." Harry argued.

"Do you think you can come back home by Christmas?" Damien asked, knowing the possibility was nil, but he wanted to ask anyway.

"Of course, Christmas is a month away." Harry replied.

"I meant tomorrow." Damien said.

"I'm good, Damy but not that good." Harry laughed.

Damien hung up after that, praying that his brother did come home, even if it wasn't in time for Christmas.

--

_**Canon World**_

Harry clenched his teeth hard as he walked over to the scared looking boy.

"I said aim, not maim!" He growled out.

"Sorry, Harry. I didn't mean it!" Dennis whimpered.

Next to him, Colin was rubbing his eye, which his brother had poked with his wand.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." He reassured Dennis and the few students that had gathered around him to make sure he was alright.

Harry threw Dennis another look before turning and walking back to the front of the class.

"Right, listen up. We're going to try something else. Everyone put away your wands."

The students of the DA obeyed and pocketed their wands, sharing confused looks with one another.

"Duelling isn't just about curses and how to cast them. Another aspect to defending yourself is dodging curses." Harry said.

The students didn't look too pleased.

"Dodging? But we don't have to learn how to _dodge_. I mean, that's just common sense." Parvati said.

"Yeah, and besides, the shield charm can be used to protect against curses." Michael added.

"The shield charm won't protect you from every curse." Harry said, his eyes narrowed at the boy. He plain ignored Parvati. "The Unforgivables are the three curses that you can't use any sort of shield against. The Curses are so powerful they will shatter your shield. The only way you can avoid the Unforgivables, is to jump out of their way."

Harry waved his wand and uttered a curse; one that no one recognised, and numerous balls appeared at Harry's feet. The class let out gasps of surprise as well as awe. The balls were roughly the size of a Quaffle and were in groups of three colours, Red, Blue and Green.

"These balls represent the three Unforgivables. The Red balls are the Cruciatus curse, Blue is the Imperius curse and Green is the Killing curse." Harry explained. "Your goal; avoid getting him by them."

That was all the warning the class got. Harry raised his wand and the numerous balls floated in the air, at Harry's eye level. Harry flicked his wand in the direction of the students and the balls suddenly darted towards the large group, at amazing speed. Screams filled the room as most were caught off in surprise and ran in all directions to avoid getting hit. Some smashed into each other and fell to the ground. Some were hit by the balls hard in the face and let out groans. Others darted around the room, trying to avoid one ball only to be hit with another.

Within a matter of minutes, everyone had been hit with at least one ball, if not more. They all sat on the ground, looking annoyed and disappointed in themselves. They all glared at Harry, who in turn smirked.

"Well, that was pathetic." Harry said.

"There were too many!" Justin moaned.

"You didn't even give us a warning." Padma added.

"They really hurt." Cho said, rubbing at her nose where she had been hit.

"They're supposed to hurt and you rarely ever get a warning when attacked and that was only a fraction of the number of curses you may have to face if ever surrounded by Death Eaters." Harry answered. He fixed the students with another stern look. "You should be thankful I'm using the balls and not the actual curses themselves." Harry added.

The students quietened down, looks of horror on their faces. Hermione bit her lip as she stared around her.

"You wouldn't do that! It's a lifetime in Azkaban for using the Unforgivables." Colin said, looking shell shocked that Harry had even suggested that.

"I wouldn't use them, but the Death Eaters that you'll be facing in the near future, they will." Harry explained.

The students looked even more afraid.

"Let's try again, and this time, concentrate on dodging not only the balls, but each other too." Harry said.

Everyone got to their feet and Harry floated the colourful balls once again into the air. This time, there was a notable difference in the students dodging the balls, most were still hit but they avoided it for a few minutes at least.

Harry kept up the practise of dodging for the rest of the lesson, resulting in very sore but generally happy students.

"Man, I'll be sleeping tonight!" Lee commented as he walked out the door.

Harry stayed back to tidy up the room with Ron and Hermione.

"Good lesson, today." Hermione commented.

"Yeah, sore but good." Ron added.

"I'm gad you liked it, you'll be having it every so often." Harry grinned.

Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"That's fine, but Harry watch out for comments like tonight. I was afraid your cover was blown." Hermione said.

"Hermione, I could walk into the room ringing a bell with a huge sign hanging around my neck that says, 'I'm Voldemort's adopted son from another Universe' and no one would believe me. It's fine, just relax." Harry grinned.

"There's an image." Ron muttered.

"Harry's sandwich board?" Hermione asked.

"No, you relaxing" Ron answered.

Both boys sniggered as Hermione pursued her lips at them.

"I'm serious, you have to watch out. You're giving out signs that you're not Harry." Hermione said. Then shaking her head she added. "You know what I mean."

The trio left the Room of Requirement and after checking the map, they made their way back to the common room.

"I've got to say, I can't believe we're getting away with the DA." Hermione whispered as they headed up the dormitory stairs. "I was actually expecting to be sold out by now."

"You just want to see your secret spell in action, don't you?" Ron accused.

"No, I just thought that someone from the group was going to tell Umbridge what we're doing. The fact that no one has must mean that everyone like the DA and want it to continue." Hermione explained.

"You're a hit, Harry." Ron told him, with a grin.

"Woo hoo!" Harry mocked.

"You guys can joke but I know that both of you are just as proud as I am." Hermione said before turning to the girls' dormitory.

"I think that pleasure is strictly all yours!" Harry called after her, smirking as she turned around to make a face at him.

The two boys continued into their dormitory and crept quietly into the room. Neville and Dean were already in bed and judging by their tired snores fast asleep. Harry crept quietly passed their beds to get to his own. As he passed by Neville, he caught sight of something odd. Sticking out, under Neville's askew pillow was a newspaper. Harry recognised what he saw of the front page. He gently pulled the paper free from under Neville's head and got a good look at it.

He stared at the front page of the newspaper that had arrived last week. The pictures of the numerous Death Eaters that had escaped from Azkaban stared back at him. Harry's eyes travelled to the picture of the female Death Eater. He felt the shudder run through him again as he stared at Bella's gaunt face.

"Where did you find that?"

Ron's whisper brought Harry back and he pulled his gaze away from Bella to look at him.

"It was under his pillow." Harry replied, gesturing to the still asleep Neville.

Ron's eyed widened with surprise.

"Really? I wonder why he's got that hidden under his pillow." He mused.

Harry tucked the paper back under the pillow, as far as he could without disturbing the sleeping boy. Neville let out a snort but didn't wake up. Harry and Ron reached their beds.

"That's really weird, don't you think?" Ron whispered as he pulled off his robes.

"Yeah." Harry agreed his mind again, on Bella and what became of her in this world.

"You know now that I think about it, Neville has been acting weird lately. Have you noticed how quiet he's gotten? And I can tell he's trying really hard in the DA." Ron continued to whisper.

"Really? Because I haven't noticed anything like that. He's just as clumsy as he's always been." Harry griped.

Ron looked up and stared at Harry.

"You know them," he said quietly. "Don't you? The people on that page. That's why you go all funny when you see them."

Harry climbed into his bed.

"I don't go all funny." He protested.

"Harry, mate. The day you saw that paper you left in the middle of breakfast and were gone for the rest of the day. You missed all the classes and meal times. You came back at night." Ron reminded him.

"I had to clear my head." Harry explained.

"And you were in a stinking mood."

"I was not, I don't go into moods." Harry protested.

"Please, you're worse than a woman." Ron scoffed.

"Weasley!" Harry warned.

"Fine, fine" Ron climbed into his bed. For a few minutes there was silence, then Ron spoke. "They're different, the people that you remember from where you come from. The ones here want nothing more than to hurt Harry Potter. Just remember that."

"Goodnight, Ron." Harry responded.

"Goodnight." Ron said tiredly.

xxx

"What do you think, Harry? Harry? Harry!?" Hermione yelled.

Harry looked up at her.

"Did you say something?"

"Harry, where are you? I've been talking to you for the last ten minutes." Hermione said, lowering her textbook.

"Oh, right. So that's what that annoying sound was." Harry remarked.

"You weren't listening to me?" Hermione asked, ignoring his last comment.

"Sorry I was just figuring something out." Harry said.

Ron lowered his parchment and quill, eager to postpone his homework.

"What's got you stumped?" he asked.

"Nothing" Harry said.

"You've been really quiet ever since you got that phone call this morning," Hermione said. "Everything okay at home?"

"Yes, Hermione. Everything is fine." Harry insisted. "Now what were you asking me about?"

Hermione looked reluctant to change topic but she went with it.

"I was asking you about the next DA lesson and if you thought learning the deflection jinx was worth it."

"Sure, Hermione." Harry answered.

Ron and Hermione went back to completing their homework leaving Harry to his quiet thoughts. He was figuring out when he could sneak back into the Potions lab and brew the location potion again. His promise to Damien that he would make more of an effort to find the compass meant that he could think of nothing else but fulfilling that promise.

"I think, I'll go to bed now." Harry said and got up.

"Harry, it's only eight." Ron said.

"I know, I'm just tired." Harry lied and hurried to his room.

"He's weird." Ron said after Harry disappeared.

"Or he's up to something." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, that makes more sense." Ron admitted.

xxx

That night, as soon as the last of his roommates fell asleep, Harry crept out of his bed. He had the sketch of the compass already in his pocket. With a quick glance around, he apparated straight to the Potions lab, and ended up right in front of Draco Malfoy.

'Damn, I've got to stop doing that!' Harry cursed to himself.

Draco was sitting on his chair, a cauldron bubbling before him. Thankfully for Harry, Draco was looking at his parchment when he apparated, or else the Slytherin would have seen Harry appear from thin air.

The soft pop of apparation was enough to draw the blond boy's attention though and he looked up to see Harry. Surprise flitted over his features before grey eyes narrowed at him.

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

Harry looked to his right, a yard away was the entrance to the lab.

"Through the door." Harry said gesturing towards it.

Draco looked at the door and then back at Harry.

"You walked all the way here from your common room without your invisibility cloak?" he asked with disbelief.

"Well, ever since someone tried to _steal_ it, I've been overprotective of my cloak." Harry answered, taking a few steps towards him.

Draco shifted in his seat, his pale cheeks flushed just a little at the reminder of his attempted theft. He looked back up at Harry with defiance though.

"So you managed to get here without anyone seeing you?" he asked, again in disbelief.

"What can I say? I'm just very good at being stealthy. It's one of my many qualities." Harry smirked.

Draco smirked back at him.

"Well, I hope you're good at hiding too, since Professor Snape is coming." He gestured to the door and sure enough, Harry could hear approaching footsteps.

Harry could have apparated but he didn't want anyone to know that he could manipulate the powerful wards of Hogwarts, least of all this world's Draco Malfoy. Harry wanted some of his powers to remain a mystery. Ron and Hermione knew Harry could apparate into and out of Hogwarts but they weren't likely to go and tell Voldemort.

With a growl of warning to Draco, Harry moved towards the back bench and hid under it. He could hear Draco chuckling.

The door opened and Snape entered the lab. He looked at his only pupil sitting before the cauldron.

"Are you finished Mr Malfoy?" he asked.

"Yes sir, I just finished making the notes."

A rustle of parchment and Harry knew Draco was handing his notes to the Professor. Long minutes ticked by and no one said a word. At last Snape spoke.

"It's satisfactory, although I would have liked a more in depth explanation of the use of Dragon claw in this potion."

Harry rolled his eyes, that was just like him; never happy with what he got. 'Whiny bastard!' Harry thought to himself.

"Pour some of this into two vials and then clear up. That is all for tonight." Snape instructed.

"Professor?" Draco called.

Harry held his breath. 'If he rats me out, I'll kill him!' Harry promised himself.

"Yes, Mr Malfoy?" Snape asked.

"What time do you want me to come next week?"

Harry let out his breath.

"Come earlier. I've excused you this time for coming late. Next time I will turn you away and you can forget about me helping you." Snape's harsh tone bit out.

"Yes, sir." Draco answered.

"After you clean up, you're dismissed for tonight." Snape said.

The sound of footsteps echoed and the soft click of the door suggested that Snape had left. Harry stayed put under the table, in case the Professor came back inside for something.

"You can come out, he's gone." Draco called out.

Harry moved from his hiding place and straightened up. He ignored the smirk Draco was wearing.

"You didn't sell me out?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged.

"It's no fun when you're expecting it." he answered.

Harry tilted his head to the side a little.

"So, you're saying you'll sell me out when I least expect it?" Draco didn't answer, just kept Harry's gaze. "Well, that's good to know." Harry said, moving towards the door, intending to leave.

"You can have the lab to yourself. I'm leaving." Draco offered quietly.

Harry stopped and turned around.

"I'd rather come back another time." Harry answered.

"Snape won't be back, not tonight. You can have the lab for…" he stared at Harry. "Whatever it is you were planning on doing."

Harry didn't move, still in two minds about whether he should risk making the potion tonight.

"Well, don't stop on my account. I'll clean this up and be on my way." Draco said and turned around to start clearing away his things.

Harry waited a moment before walking to the back bench and setting up his own cauldron. He picked out the supplies and set to work, ignoring the blond haired boy. After about twenty minutes, Draco had cleared up his work station and had the two vials filled and corked with his assignment. He placed them on Snape's desk and packed up the rest of his things.

Draco stopped to give Harry a look. Harry ignored him but after a few moments his annoyance at being stared at got to him.

"What is it, Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking up at the boy.

"It's just such a bizarre sight." Draco said. At Harry's raised eyebrow, he elaborated, "Potter brewing a potion without the cauldron exploding."

Harry smirked at him and went back to adding more ingredients to his potion.

"Says he who is stuck in the Potions lab, doing remedial classes." Harry threw back at him.

Draco's face flushed again and he stood to his full height.

"Not that it is any of your business, Potter, but I'm not doing remedial Potions! Professor Snape is giving me advanced Potions lessons so I can secure a Potions apprenticeship in a few years." He said as he walked to the door.

Harry didn't look up from his potion as he answered.

"What happened to bribing your way there?"

Draco stopped next to the door and threw Harry a glare.

"Sometimes it's fun to try the conventional method." He answered.

"Uh huh" Harry remarked, giving him a funny look.

Draco only threw him a scornful look before opening the door and leaving.

Harry chuckled to himself before extinguishing the flames under his cauldron. With a flick of his wrist Harry emptied his cauldron. He put back the ingredients he had taken and took out the proper supplies needed for the location potion. He set to work, his gaze flickering back to the door. Harry knew Draco was more than adept at Potions. Draco's father excelled in the subject and had taught Harry and Draco in his world. Harry had no doubt the Lucius Malfoy of this world was any less of a Potions master. He had noted Draco taking an interest in what supplies Harry had taken out and when he was staring at Harry, he wasn't staring because he was surprised that Harry was good at Potions, he was staring because he was trying to work out what potion Harry was brewing.

Harry smiled to himself as he added the ingredients needed for the location potion. Draco might be sly and sneaky but Harry was in a league of his own. He purposefully brew a bogus potion, one that simply enhanced one's senses instead of the location potion to throw Draco.

But Draco had not lied about Snape. He was right to say that he was not going to come back to the potions lab. Harry worked in peace and in a few hours the potion was ready. Harry carefully unravelled the sketch and dropped it into the bubbling cauldron. Like before, Harry had made a copy and left it in his trunk, should he need it again.

He scooped out the spoonful of potion and dropped it onto a blank piece of parchment and whispered the location spell. Black spidery lines began weaving their way across the parchment and within a few minutes, Harry was holding the map leading to the golden compass.

Harry frowned at it.

"This can't be right." He muttered to himself.

The map showed the location of the compass. The location was unfamiliar to Harry but that wasn't what bothered him. It was the fact that the compass was showing up at all that was worrying. Harry had fully expected the location spell to come up with no results; the reason being that Voldemort now had the compass and he wasn't likely to keep it somewhere that could be easily detected. It should be protected, like most of Voldemort's possessions and Harry knew Voldemort wasn't one to leave his possessions in vulnerable places.

Harry sat back on his chair and studied the map. The golden compass was just sitting there, ready to be picked up. All Harry had to do was follow the map and he would get to the compass. Harry's mind screamed at him that something was not right, it seemed too easy, it shouldn't be this easy. Harry wondered if it was a trap. Lucius Malfoy had fought with Harry; he knew Harry was after the compass. Voldemort knew Harry was from another universe; Harry knew Voldemort had linked Harry's desire to get to the compass with his different appearance and had realised that he was from another universe. It wasn't that hard after all.

Harry sat for a few minutes, debating what he should do. He stared back at the map.

"Screw it!" he muttered as he got to his feet.

He was going to go anyway. The compass was right there, the only thing that could get him home. He could apparate there and back before anyone could do anything to him. Even if this was a trap laid out by Voldemort, Harry was going to take the chance. He reassured himself that if worse came to worse he could apparate out of danger.

He felt his heart jump uncomfortably at the mere idea of seeing Voldemort again. He felt nervous and his palms felt oddly clammy, something he hadn't felt since he first started carrying out his assignments.

With a quick flick of his wand, the cauldron was emptied and the supplies were put back in their place. The lab was clear and no evidence of Harry's presence or his potion was visible.

Harry gripped the map in one hand and closed his eyes.

"Here goes nothing." He told himself before he apparated away from the potions lab in Hogwarts.

xxx

Harry opened his eyes when he felt his feet touch solid ground. He looked around and found himself in a dense darkened forest. Harry checked the map and whispered the charm to show him which way to go. He followed the direction his wand was pointing at and quietly made his way deeper into the woods.

Twigs and leaves crunched under his feet as Harry made his way through the forest. He pushed the branches away from his face as he travelled in the dark. It was past midnight now and the only light came from the silvery moon overhead.

Finally, Harry found the pathway leading out of the forest and down a steep hill. Harry stood at the top of the hill and stared down. Far below him, standing alone was an impressive Manor. It wasn't Riddle Manor, Harry knew that but something about it was oddly familiar.

Harry started making his way down the hill careful not to lose his footing. There was no one in sight, no lurking Death Eater, no men standing guard, not even a stray animal prowling near. Harry jumped over the last part of the hill and landed on his feet. He stood up and stared at the Manor.

Again, his senses were telling him this wasn't right. It was too easy. Why weren't there man stationed around here? Where were his Death Eaters? If Voldemort was indeed living here, why wasn't the place drowning in protection spells?

Harry pushed his sense of foreboding aside and stepped towards the Manor. His way back home was resting inside the Manor, if he had even a fraction of a chance to get to the compass, then it was worth taking the chance.

Harry walked around to the back of the Manor and searched it for a way in. After finding the door, Harry took a minute to steel his nerves before he quietly unlocked it and let himself in.

The Manor was deserted, that was what Harry felt as soon as he walked inside. His magical senses were on high alert and the first thing he noted was the lack of magic in the air. He felt his body relax, Voldemort wasn't here and neither were his Death Eaters. If they were, they would have performed some sort of magic and Harry would have been able to detect it. Feeling a lot better, Harry walked further into the darkened Manor.

According to the map, the compass was on the third floor. Harry followed the map and climbed up the grand staircase until he arrived at the third floor. The doors lining both sides of the long corridor were identical. Harry walked along the corridor and stopped in front of the seventh one on the right. According to the map, the compass was inside this room.

Harry tried the door and found it locked. He unlocked it wandlessly and walked inside. The room was about the size of his dormitory in Hogwarts. It was empty, not one piece of furniture could be seen anywhere. Beneath his feet there was nothing more than floorboards.

Harry frowned; he couldn't sense the compass anywhere. His senses couldn't pick up the magical compass and yet the map was indicating he was right next to it. In fact it was suggesting he was standing on it. what was going on?

The answer came to Harry all of a sudden and his eyes widened. He gripped onto his wand in reflex. He whirled around to face the door just as the room around him started to fade rapidly. The blank walls faded to be replaced by a deep plum colour; a deep maroon coloured carpet covered the floorboards and the torches on the walls brought sudden warmth and light to the room, enough light for Harry to see that he was surrounded by an army of Death Eaters. All had their masks in place and their wands pointed at Harry. They had him completely surrounded.

Harry knew when to fake defeat and he slowly raised his hands, dropping his wand to the ground. His eyes raked over the men standing before him. None of them had spoken a single word or had fired anything his way.

"Tut, Tut." A silky voice spoke from behind him. Harry turned around to face the blond haired man, the only one without his Death Eater mask, "I thought you would have figured the illusion out a lot sooner. It seems I overestimated you." Lucius Malfoy said with his usual drawl.

Harry didn't say anything in response but he berated himself too. He should have suspected something like this. Illusions were one aspect of magic that surpassed everything else. It was the most complex of magic and Voldemort excelled in it. The reason Harry couldn't sense any magic was because that was what the illusion was set up to do. Harry had been tricked and his senses had been right; he had walked straight into a trap.

"What's the matter, Potter? Got nothing to say today?" Lucius asked.

Harry smirked at him and lowered his hands.

"The two words I want to say to you need a wand to really deliver it." Harry answered.

A giggle broke out and one of the Death Eaters stepped forward, the wand pointed at Harry wavering.

"Aww, fancy that," the Death Eater lifted away the mask to reveal dark blazing eyes and long unruly hair that fell around a thin pale face. "Little, baby Potter is all grown up and wants to play!"

Harry found his words choke in the back of his throat. Seeing her picture in the Daily Prophet was one thing but to see Bella standing before him, talking to him, even if she was mocking him, was something that Harry was completely unprepared for. Bella cocked her head and studied him, her fierce eyes travelling all over Harry.

"What are you staring at Potter? Looking for this?" she pulled out the golden compass from her pocket and showed it to him.

Harry broke out of his shocked trance and stared at the compass, the thing he had walked into this trap for.

"You almost stepped on it," Bella told him. She stroked the top of the compass lovingly as if it were a pet. "I saved it." she kept her eyes on Harry as she brought up the compass and kissed it. "It belongs to my Master and you almost broke it!" she shrieked at him all of a sudden.

"Come now, Bella. He never meant to."

Harry closed his eyes as he heard the familiar cold voice behind him. He turned slowly to face the door and found this world's Lord Voldemort standing before him.

"Welcome," Voldemort said speaking to Harry, a cruel smirk on his lips. "son."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I know, I know, horrible cliffie but I did warn you!!

Please review and I promise to update soon. Cheers!!


	27. The Deal

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to all who reviewed. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

_**AU World **_

By the time Damien walked into the kitchen on Christmas morning, it was already occupied by the rest of the Potter family. Lily was busy preparing the usual Christmas day breakfast. James and Harry were seated at the table, chuckling quietly about something. As soon as Damien walked inside, all three turned to look at him.

Damien halted mid step for only a moment at their looks, before walking further into the kitchen. Lily walked over to him, kissing Damien on the cheek before giving him a warm smile.

"Merry Christmas, darling." She said softly.

"Merry Christmas, mum." Damien returned, giving her a smile too.

He turned to the table and sat down as Lily returned to her cooking. Damien avoided looking at Harry as he mumbled a 'Merry Christmas' to him and James. His greeting was returned by both, just as quietly.

Damien hadn't forgotten what his brother had said to him last night but he found it awkward to start off a friendly conversation with Harry after the way he spoke with him. Harry seemed not to keen to speak to him either so the three Potters sat in silence and waited for their breakfast. They ate quietly, with only James and Lily attempting to make the boys talk. Soon they gave up too.

As soon as breakfast was over, Harry got up and started cleaning the table.

"Harry honey, you don't have to do that." Lily said, getting to her feet.

"You made the breakfast, I'll clear up." Harry told her, taking the plate from her hand.

Damien wordlessly got up and started helping to clear up too. James and Lily noticed but didn't say anything to him. They both left the kitchen, leaving the two boys alone. For the first few minutes, neither boy spoke but continued clearing the table. Harry started washing the dishes while Damien cleared up the rest of the kitchen. After a few awkward and tense silent minutes, Damien finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

Harry looked over at him for a moment before going back to the dishes.

"Okay"

Damien tried again.

"I shouldn't have said all the stuff to you last night. I didn't mean it."

Harry put away the last of the dishes and dried his hands.

"Whatever, Damien. It's cool." Harry responded, still not looking at him.

"Can you say that while looking at me?" Damien asked.

Harry turned to face him, his annoyance visible.

"Fine, it's not cool. You were out of line." Harry said.

"I know, I'm sorry." Damien repeated.

"Why did you say all that? You were fine with me and then all of a sudden you were pissed at me. What did I do?" Harry asked.

Damien felt his cheeks flush with shame. He ducked his head and leaned back to rest against the worktop.

"You didn't do anything. I…I was angry with mum and dad and I took it out on you." He explained.

Harry looked at him, confused.

"Why were you mad at mum and dad?" he asked. "Was it because of dad? Because of the way he's been ignoring you?" he asked, softening a little.

Damien shook his head.

"No, it was other stuff. Stupid stuff that I've now realised isn't true." Damien said quickly.

"Like what?" Harry asked.

Damien gave a shrug.

"It's not important."

Harry crossed his arms and stared at Damien.

"It was important enough yesterday for you to have a go at me." He accused.

"I told you, I was just mad at mum and dad. I took it out on you and I know I shouldn't have." Damien repeated, starting to get annoyed now.

"I can tell it was more than that. You were mad at me too. You blamed me for staying here, when you know that it's not my fault." Harry said.

"You have to admit, it's not like you're doing anything to get back to your world. You're happy here and if it came down to it, you would stay here indefinitely." Damien said seriously.

Harry blinked at him.

"Is that what's been bothering you? You think I want to stay here?" Harry asked.

"You would stay here forever if you got the chance. Don't deny it." Damien said.

"Are you really this stupid?" Harry asked. "Of course I would stay here if I could. This world has everything I could ever want; my parents, a healthy Sirius, no threat of Voldemort, what else could I want?"

Damien didn't answer but stared at Harry, his heart beating painfully fast at the confession.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to stay here." Harry continued. "Even if this world's Harry had stayed with his family all his life and had never been torn away from them, even then, I would never take his place." Harry said. "He's the one who belongs here, with his parents and his family. He's been without them for so long, he needs to be with them, with you." Harry said.

Damien was speechless. He had never thought Harry could think like this.

"I'm grateful for having this chance to meet my parents. That's enough for me." Harry finished.

Damien could tell the last part was painful for Harry to say. He could see it in his eyes.

"You would go back happily?" Damien asked, already knowing the answer.

Harry thought about his answer.

"I wouldn't be happy, exactly, but I would be thankful for having had this chance. I wouldn't stay in a place I don't belong." He finished.

Damien felt shame wash over him again. He had said those hurtful words to him last night; said that Harry wasn't supposed to be here.

"Harry I never meant to say that stuff to you. I was just being a jerk. I'm sorry." He said, really meaning his words.

Harry could tell Damien was genuinely sorry for last night. He decided to put him out of his misery.

"Forget about last night. As far as I'm concerned, it didn't happen."

Damien gave him a small, relieved smile.

"Really?"

Harry smiled.

"Sure. Besides, it's Christmas. It would be nice to have a stress free day."

"Ditto" Damien muttered to himself.

xxx

The day went on and by lunch time, Potter Manor had a further three wizards; Remus, Sirius and strange as it was, Draco. Lily had invited the former Slytherin student over to spend Christmas with them as Narcissa and Lucius were still in hospital. Draco was living by himself and Lily couldn't bear to think of the boy spending Christmas alone so she convinced him to join them at Potter Manor. She knew her Harry would also appreciate it.

Draco was quiet and just kept to himself, occasionally talking to either Sirius or Damien. He pretty much ignored the rest.

"Any change in your mum and dad's condition?" Damien asked as he sat with the blond haired boy.

"They're still the same. I saw them this morning." Draco said quietly. "Healer Roberts hinted at the possibility of them never recovering from the coma."

Damien didn't know what to say to that. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words to say.

"God, Draco. I'm sorry." He finally managed to utter.

Draco shrugged his shoulders sadly.

"Not anything anyone can do." He returned.

Sirius and Remus joined the two boys and the conversation moved towards less depressing topics, much to Damien's relief.

Just before dinner, another surprise guest showed up at the Manor; Ginny.

Damien rushed to greet her as she stepped out from the fireplace.

"Ginny! What a surprise! I didn't know you were coming over." Damien said as he gave the girl a hug.

"I wasn't planning on it but my mum suddenly asked me why I wasn't going over to see Harry on Christmas. I didn't want her to start thinking something was wrong so I thought I would come over." Ginny explained.

"Well, I'm glad you did. Merry Christmas!" Damien said with a smile.

Ginny returned the greeting before meeting the rest. Lily was happy to see her.

"Oh good, another female! At least I'm not the only one!" she joked as she met the girl.

"I thought Tonks would be here. Didn't she come with Remus?" Ginny asked as she started helping Lily with the food.

"She's spending time with her parents. She did say she would join us for dinner, so she should be along soon." Lily replied.

Damien was pulled out of a conversation he was having with Remus when James suddenly called to him.

"Damien, can I see you in the dining room."

Hoping his dad was going to respect the fact that today was Christmas and thus was going to refrain from telling him off again, Damien walked to the large parlour that served as their dining room. He walked in to find James next to the long stretched out table, several items of cutlery in his hands.

"Can you help me lay out the plate settings? Dinner is going to be ready soon."

Damien walked confusedly to the glass cabinets and started taking out his mum's best china. He wondered why his dad didn't use magic, like he usually did. He worked in silence for a few minutes casting wary glances at his dad.

"Did you speak to Harry?" James asked suddenly.

Damien looked up, startled.

"Which one?" he asked.

"The one currently trapped in another world." James answered, as he laid the cutlery arrangement next to a plate setting.

"Again, I have to ask, which one?" Damien said.

James looked up at Damien and to the boy's surprise, he smiled at him.

"The Harry you have to talk to through a phone." He said.

"I spoke to him last night." Damien said. Thinking that James was asking because he wanted to tell him off for taking the phone, he added, "I asked mum for the phone."

James nodded his head and the next few minutes lapsed into silence again.

"Hermione sent a letter yesterday." James told her.

Damien looked up warily at his dad.

"Yeah?"

"She explained that her team are working on the compass. They have one third of the runes worked out and the rest will be done after the holidays. She was very excited about working with the compass and said she was hopeful about successfully working it all out."

Damien waited for his dad to ask how Hermione got the compass, but James continued laying out the settings and fixing the table.

"I guess you want an explanation as to how Hermione got the compass?" Damien finally asked, bracing himself.

James looked up at Damien and again the boy was surprised to see his face break into a smile.

"It's not needed. I know you gave her the compass and I have to admit it is a good idea."

Damien was frozen with a plate still in his hand. He stared at his dad.

"You do?" he asked in astonishment.

"Dumbledore has admitted that not a lot is known about the compass, or the Kayanat, as he keeps insisting we call it, its proper name." James worked his way around the table as he kept talking. "The best bet is handing the Kayanat over to researchers that have a chance to work out how the thing works and more importantly, how to fix it. I know that Hermione will take care of the compass."

James came to stand next to Damien, who was still rooted to the spot in shock.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked.

James took the plate from Damien's hand and put it in its place.

"I was, at first but then I realised something." James turned to look straight at Damien, both sets of hazel eyes locked to one another. "I realised, that no matter what happens, Harry will always be your first priority. I know you only gave Hermione the compass so you can get your brother back. For that, I can't be mad at you."

"I thought that was exactly why you were mad at me; because I always put Harry first?" Damien asked quietly.

"I'm your father, Damien." James told him. "Nothing makes me happier than to see the strong bond you share with your brother. I'm incredibly proud of how you both stand up for each other. But that doesn't mean I won't get upset when you take risks and keep things secret from me, things that endanger either of your lives."

Damien ducked his head; he did understand what his dad meant.

"I never wanted to keep this from you. I didn't even want the swap to happen in the first place." He admitted.

"Then don't be afraid to stand up to Harry and tell him you won't go along with him. I told you before, he's your brother, he won't hate you for saying no to him." James responded.

Damien nodded his head.

"Yeah, I guess."

James put a hand on Damien's shoulder, making the boy look up him. James gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before smiling at him.

"I'm hoping that from now on, you will think carefully about keeping things from me." James asked softly.

"Yeah, I will. I swear, I will." Damien said sincerely.

James pulled the boy into an embrace and ruffled his hair lovingly.

"I don't like being mad at you." James confessed.

"I'm not to keen on it myself." Damien laughed back.

James let go of him and smiled at him.

"You better finish quickly; your mum's got dinner ready."

Damien nodded and picked up the rest of the dishes and began to lay them out. He caught sight of his dad as he walked out of the room; he was pulling out the phone from his pocket. Damien smiled to himself at the thought of his dad phoning Harry.

xxx

Dinner was a pleasant affair. Tonks had reached them just in time so the nine of them sat down to a delicious Christmas dinner. James had been the last of them to come to the table. He looked a little preoccupied as he took his seat, his expression was one that showed confusion and a little worry. Damien wondered what Harry had said to him, but he didn't want to ask just now. He figured he would ask him later.

James cheered up through dinner though, mostly due to Sirius and Remus telling Harry past Christmas tales. Even Draco looked amused.

"One time, James charmed the turkey to run around the top of the table, just as it was about to be carved." Sirius laughed. "Oh, man. Mrs Potter was mad!"

James chuckled.

"I remember that. Mum didn't talk to me the whole of the next day."

Harry couldn't stop smiling. He was really enjoying himself. He couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.

"What was your dad like?" Harry asked.

"Like me, chilled out and laid back. He never yelled at me." James said.

Damien pretended to choke on his food and looked up at him with a cheeky smile.

"Of course, I never gave him trouble of the likes that you give me." James told him.

"Come on, Prongs. Pup isn't that bad." Sirius jumped to his Godson's defence.

Lily tried to bring Draco into the conversation too.

"I can imagine Christmas at Malfoy Manor must have been a treat." She said.

Draco shrugged.

"Just the same as everyone else's I assume. Family get together, dinner, opening presents, torture some muggles."

Everyone was stunned into silence. Draco smirked at them.

"The last one was a joke. You know? Malfoys? Evil?"

No one laughed but they looked relieved.

"Okay, whatever." Draco muttered as he went back to his food.

"I remember one Christmas; I altered my appearance so I turned green from head to foot. I stood next to the tree and my mum couldn't find me. She was in tears by the time I revealed myself." Tonks told the rest.

"Tonks, that's terrible." Lily gushed.

Tonks shrugged.

"I was ten and had found out there was no such thing as Santa. I was just acting out."

"Wait, there's no such thing as Santa? You're kidding right?!" Sirius said, dropping his fork dramatically.

Damien rolled his eyes before patting his shoulder.

"No, no, Sirius. There is a Santa Claus. Isn't that right everyone?"

"Yes, that's right." Everyone chorused at the usual Christmas day joke. Draco was looking around at the rest open mouthed. He shook his head and muttered something that sounded like 'kids!'.

"The Christmas that sticks in my mind is the one where five year old Damy was turned into a girl." Remus revealed.

"Oh, that was brilliant!" Sirius roared with laughter, slapping his hand on the table.

"It was not! It was terrible." Damien argued, going a little red at the mention of that particular Christmas.

"You were adorable." Lily cooed.

"How did that happen?" Harry asked.

"We, that is me and Moony, were thinking what it would have been like if James had a little girl. We couldn't stop wondering what she would look like. So, we charmed little Damy's hair long and red and transfigured his clothes into a frilly frock and put him in heels." Sirius happily told them.

Damien had hid his face behind his hands and was shaking his head as the others chuckled quietly.

"What happened then?" Harry asked fighting to hide his grin.

"Lily was shocked and started yelling at us. James was just speechless." Remus replied.

"Damien rather enjoyed it. He wouldn't let us change him back." Remus added mischievously.

"Okay, firstly, I was like five and I can't remember if that is even true." Damien replied. "And secondly, you should be ashamed turning me into a girl!"

Harry and Draco were chuckling and even Ginny had her face hidden in her hands as she giggled at Damien.

"Don't feel bad, you actually looked really cute." James teased.

Damien only huffed at him and threw him a playful glare.

"Can you imagine if Damien was a girl?" Ginny suddenly said. "I would be a lot happier." She giggled.

"Can we talk about something else?" Damien huffed.

"It's lucky you weren't a girl. If you were you would have died a spinster." Sirius told him.

"What? Why?" Damien asked.

"Well between James and Harry, no boy would have managed to get to you." Sirius explained.

Everyone laughed at that, even Damien's lips twitched into a reluctant smile.

"I remember our first Christmas at Godric's Hollow." Lily said suddenly, her eyes fixed on Harry. "You were only five months old."

Everyone went silent. Harry's attention was fixed to her and he eagerly listened.

"Everyone got a little carried away, since it was your first Christmas, and we ended up with so many presents, we could hardly see the floor under the Christmas tree." Lily continued a small smile on her face. "You couldn't quite crawl yet but you had started to bum shuffle. Somehow you managed to get to the presents and you lay among them and fell asleep. I couldn't find you and I started to panic."

"Panic? You were ready to collapse." Sirius interrupted, a smile on his face at the memory. "I came to the rescue." He said proudly.

"How?" Harry asked, the word coming out in an oddly choked voice.

"Well, I changed into Padfoot and went about the house, trying to sniff you out. I came across you, lying hidden behind the presents, fast asleep. You had clutched onto a ribbon of a present, surprisingly yours, and were quite content to sleep there."

Harry didn't know if the same incident had happened in his world. It was possible it hadn't, but he decided to believe that it had. It made him feel oddly warm inside. He smiled at Lily.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I picked you up and put you into your cot." She answered.

"After crying over you for at least an hour." Sirius added in a whisper.

"I did not!" Lily defended.

"Yes you did, honey." James said.

Lily huffed at them but her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"I always remembered that Christmas. It was the only one with Harry for…" she paused, "…for fifteen years." She finished.

James reached over and held her hand.

"There will be many more to come with him." he whispered to her.

She nodded her head. She looked over to see Harry and smiled warmly at him.

"This Christmas will also be one I'll always remember." She told him.

Harry didn't answer but nodded his head at her. He too would never forget this Christmas; the only one he would have with his parents.

"Excuse me." Lily got up from her seat and whispered something to James. In return, he pulled out the phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

Damien watched as Lily left the room, clutching the phone. The occupants of the table started talking among themselves again. Lily came back inside after only a minute or so. She looked a little worried as she walked inside, the phone still in her hand.

"Mum, you okay?" Damien asked.

"Yes, everything's fine." She told him with a strained smile. She turned to her husband. "James, a quick word?"

James excused himself too and left the room with Lily.

As soon as they were in the kitchen, Lily turned to face James.

"I just called Harry but he didn't answer his phone." Lily said worriedly.

"He's still not answering?" James asked.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, her voice betraying her growing concern.

"I called Harry, just before dinner and he didn't pick up then either. I just thought he was busy in class or something." James explained.

"James, the time difference between the worlds means that it's probably four or five in the morning there." Lily said.

James paled slightly. He stood in silence for a minute or two before finally speaking.

"Maybe he's sleeping." He offered.

Lily gave James a sceptical look.

"Harry's not a deep sleeper. He would have woken up. He said that he keeps the phone on him at all times." She looked at her husband with clear panic. "James, I'm worried. Why isn't he answering?"

James put his arms around her, comforting her.

"Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to Harry. He's probably left the phone in his robes pocket and that's why he can't hear it ring." He could feel Lily tremble in his arms.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. I'm going to keep on worrying until I hear his voice." She said.

"We'll keep trying the phone, he'll answer it eventually." James said.

Although he was the one comforting Lily, James couldn't help feel a prickle of fear run through him. He also had the strange feeling of foreboding. He had first felt it when he had tried phoning Harry and had no response. He knew he was being foolish. This was Harry; he could take care of himself. But even that thought was doing nothing to calm his frantically beating heart.

Meanwhile, in the dining room the rest were wondering what was going on.

"What do you suppose that's about?" Tonks asked, as soon as James and Lily had left the room.

Damien and Harry shared a look.

"Hope Harry's okay." Ginny voiced, worriedly.

"Why wouldn't he be? In any case, it's Harry." Draco said, taking a sip of his drink. "He can look after himself."

Damien felt something tug at his heart. Harry could look after himself but the world he was in had the one person in it that could get the better of him. Damien closed his eyes and said a silent prayer, hoping against hope that Voldemort never came anywhere near his brother.

--

_**Canon World**_

At first, the words that Voldemort had spoken never reached Harry. His focus was solely on how different this Voldemort looked. Gone were the devilishly handsome looks that adorned the Tom Riddle of Harry's world. In its place stood a wizard with snake like features, pale skin and lips that were twisted in a sadistic smirk. His eyes, although similarly red, seemed fiercer and held no spark of humanity.

Voldemort was standing in the doorway, his eyes never leaving Harry. When Harry never responded to his greeting, the self proclaimed Dark Lord raised his hand in the air and gestured to his Death Eaters.

"Leave, all of you." He ordered simply.

The Death Eaters surrounding Harry all fell to their knees and accepted the order. Voldemort moved to let the men leave. The last Death Eater to leave was Bella. She turned to look pointedly at Harry and showed him the compass, still clutched in her hands. She smirked at Harry before leaving. The door closed behind her, leaving Harry alone with Voldemort.

The older wizard took the first few minutes to silently study the boy standing before him. He could tell the boy was shocked. Was it his greeting or his physical looks? Voldemort had seen all of the memories he had taken from the Malfoys and he saw how he had looked in the world this Harry belonged to. He knew his appearance was very different. He rather enjoyed the looks Harry was giving him right now.

Voldemort stood over the point Harry's wand rested on the floor. He summoned the wand to himself before handing it to Harry.

Warily, Harry took it from him and pocketed it.

Voldemort pointed to one of the ornate chairs and it flew towards Harry, settling just behind him. Harry however didn't take the invite to sit.

"Don't be a stranger now, Harry. After all, this is your father's home." Voldemort said.

This time Harry heard him perfectly and the he bristled at the word 'father'. Voldemort's smirk grew as he saw the effect his words had on Harry. He had guessed correctly, the boy could be easily provoked.

Voldemort pointed to another chair and it flew over to him. He sat down, gracefully, facing Harry.

"I have to say, I'm glad you finally showed up. I was getting sick of the illusion charm. You sure did take your time though." His cold voice rang through the room.

"How do you know about me?" Harry finally spoke, focusing fiercely on keeping his voice free from emotion.

Voldemort smiled at him.

"I had to work hard to get to the truth about you." He said, his voice calm and smooth. "I got it in the end. You know very well how I get what I want, eventually."

Harry fought hard against the effect Voldemort's voice had on him. His voice was the same, exactly the same. He spoke in the same manner, the same tone and it was weighing down on Harry.

"You can sit down, Harry. There are no formalities in your own home." Voldemort said.

Harry clenched his teeth hard and stopped himself from saying anything to him. He could see Voldemort was taunting him, trying to get to him. Harry was adamant not to let him win.

He sat down, his eyes never leaving the Dark Lord.

"What, no chains? I'm surprised." Harry said when he realised the chair wasn't bewitched to restrain him.

Voldemort chuckled.

"I don't need chains." He returned.

Harry ignored him.

"So why did you create this illusion to lure me here? I know it wasn't so you could have a chat." Harry asked.

Voldemort smiled again and sat back, quite relaxed.

"I knew you would come for the compass. I wanted to meet you. After all, it's not everyday I learn that the boy I brought up in another dimension is here for a visit."

"You never said how you learned that." Harry said, wondering to himself how Voldemort could have possibly known that. The only people he had told about his relationship with Voldemort were Ron and Hermione.

"I have my ways." Voldemort answered cryptically. "I learned everything about what happened in your world. Unfortunately, I never learned how exactly I was destroyed."

Seeing the glint in Harry's eyes, Voldemort continued.

"Then again, seeing how you turned out, I'm beginning to suspect I put my own wand to my heart."

Harry put everything he had into the smirk he wore.

"It worked for me." He taunted back.

"I'm sure it did." Voldemort returned.

Harry almost jumped as the phone in his pocket suddenly began to vibrate. He gave it no notice, hoping that Voldemort never noticed it either. Slowly, Harry stood up. He was in no mood to play games, especially with Voldemort.

"Well, if all you wanted was to meet me then congratulations, you've met me. I'll be off." Harry started walking towards the door. He didn't want to apparate in front of Voldemort.

"How are you going to get back home?" Voldemort asked, still sitting down.

His question halted Harry mid step.

"I'll figure out a way." Harry said, his back to Voldemort.

Suddenly he felt Voldemort standing behind him. The cold whisper in his ear made Harry's skin crawl.

"You'll be stuck here. The only way to go back is to use the compass, the Kayanat."

Voldemort circled Harry and came to stand before him.

"You need the compass, Harry. You know that very well."

Harry kept his eyes fixed to Voldemort.

"And I suppose this is the part you threaten to keep the compass away from me, right?" Harry asked.

Voldemort's thin lips curled into another smile.

"Not at all. Why would I do such a thing?" he slowly circled Harry again, unnerving him. "You're not my enemy. In fact, in another world, you were my son; my Dark Prince." He hissed the nickname, making Harry close his eyes in an attempt to keep in control. "Why would I keep something you desperately need, away from you?"

Harry opened his eyes and stared at Voldemort.

"If you wanted to give me the compass, you would have done so already." Harry said evenly.

"Smart boy," Voldemort said as he eyed him. "Everything has a price, Harry. I could give you the compass but for that, you have to give me something in return."

"I don't have anything to give to you." Harry said with a shrug.

Voldemort's eyes gleamed as he moved closer to him.

"No, but you can get something for me. Something that only _you_ can bring to me."

Harry, despite himself, was intrigued. What could Voldemort possibly want from him?

"And what's that?" he asked quietly.

"The Prophecy." replied Voldemort.

Harry was taken aback. He was not expecting that. At his confused look, Voldemort decided to elaborate. He moved back suddenly, making Harry instinctively reach for his wand. He stopped himself from taking it out.

"In the Ministry of Magic, there are many departments," as Voldemort spoke, he twisted his wand to form a large hazy bubble, one that showed the main atrium of the Ministry. "One of the Departments is called the Department of Mysteries." Harry watched as the image in the bubble changed to show a long corridor with a plain wooden door. It opened and Harry saw a large circular room with many identical unmarked black doors set at regular intervals, surrounding the room. One of the doors opened to a brilliant sparking light that came from a crystal bell jar. A single door behind the jar opened and led to a large hall, high as a church and filled with nothing but towering shelves that held dusty looking glass orbs. "On row number ninety seven, sits the glass orb containing the Prophecy made about Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort." Voldemort continued, showing the row marked by ninety seven and the glass orb holding silvery mist. Suddenly the bubble burst, the image disappearing as suddenly as it had come.

"Bring me the Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries and I will give you the compass so you can return home." Voldemort finished.

Harry didn't say anything right away. Truth was, he was still surprised that all Voldemort wanted was the Prophecy.

"Why do you want the Prophecy? Surely you already know it. Why else would you have attacked Godric's Hollow?" Harry asked.

Voldemort's eyes flashed dangerously at Harry.

"I know part of the Prophecy, now I want to know it in full."

Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

"You learnt all about my world. Did you not come across the Prophecy then?" he asked.

Voldemort smirked again and walked calmly over to him.

"As you can see, our worlds are very different. There is a chance the Prophecy made in your world is different to mine. I won't make the mistake of hearing the Prophecy second hand like last time. This time I want the Prophecy from the very source."

"Why me? Send one of your minions. Surely you have Ministry spies. Get them to fetch the Prophecy for you." Harry said.

"The only ones that can lift the Prophecy from the shelves are the ones that the Prophecy is made about. That is why you can pick it up and no one else." Voldemort explained.

Harry eyed the Dark Lord carefully. When he spoke, he kept his voice as low and as calm as he could.

"And if I don't collect the Prophecy?" he asked.

"Then you can forget about ever going back to your world. I will destroy the compass before you get a chance to get to it." Voldemort stated simply.

Harry considered this. He knew that Voldemort could very well do that. He also knew that Voldemort could make Harry steal the Prophecy and then destroy the compass anyway. He couldn't trust him, not Voldemort, not again.

Voldemort seemed to read his expression as he chuckled and held up his wand.

"I give you my word, the Dark Lord's promise, I won't cheat you. You hand me the Prophecy with one hand and take the compass with the other. I give you my word the compass will be in working order."

Harry folded his arms across his chest and stared at Voldemort.

"Why should I believe you will let me walk away with the compass?"

"Simply because, you are not my enemy. You staying here will not affect me and neither would you leaving. Why would I bother to keep you from going back?" Voldemort answered.

"Your enemy is Harry Potter." Harry stated, feeling his heart clench painfully at the words.

Voldemort shook his head, laughing softly.

"No, not even that. Harry is a nuisance that I want eliminated. My enemy is actually the same as yours." He hissed. "Albus Dumbledore."

The name made Harry react and he mentally berated himself for giving himself away like that. Voldemort continued.

"He is the one standing in my way. He is the real threat. I know that your dislike for him is in many ways, similar to mine." Voldemort was standing close to Harry again, staring into his eyes. "He is a mutual enemy. If we can help each other on the way to destroy him, then why not take that opportunity?"

Harry wasn't all that interested in destroying anyone, even the ever so righteous Albus Dumbledore. Just as he was about to speak he felt the phone in his pocket go off again. He mentally cursed the damn phone. He was sure Voldemort noticed this time.

"Fine, you have a deal." Harry said. "I'll get you the Prophecy in return for the compass."

Voldemort smiled and his red eyed seemed to sparkle at Harry.

"You have a deal." He replied in his cold voice.

"I'll come to you when I get the Prophecy." Harry said. He closed the gap between them and stared intently at the Dark Lord. "If you really have learnt everything about me then you'll know not to double cross me. You won't like me when I'm angry, I assure you that." Harry hissed dangerously at him.

Voldemort's face betrayed a second of fury before he hid it behind his mask. His eyes gleamed at Harry as he responded.

"Perhaps you should spend some time learning about me too. Threatening me will prove not be good for your health."

Harry smirked at him.

"That wasn't a threat, it was a warning." Harry walked past Voldemort towards the door. Before opening it, Harry turned around to face him again. "And you should know, I only give out one warning." With that Harry walked out the door, leaving behind Voldemort, whose face slowly broke out into a sinister smile.

xxx

Harry arrived onto Hogwarts grounds and for a moment he just stood there, gazing at the morning sky that was tinted pink with the sunrise. He still couldn't believe what had happened tonight.

Harry had walked out of the Manor, choosing to apparate back to Hogwarts once he was out of sight of the Death Eaters and Voldemort. He didn't want one of his most powerful abilities to be revealed, especially to Voldemort. He had walked past the Death Eaters, as they just stared at him.

Harry decided he wasn't going to go back to his dormitory; there was no point as he was too worked up to actually have any rest. He headed for the Forbidden forest and took a long, slow walk through the dark woods.

His mind felt numb as to what had happened. Voldemort was so different, and not just his appearance but his behaviours too. Harry didn't want to admit it but something about him unnerved him. Harry knew it was partly the surprise of finding that Voldemort knew about Harry's life and the fact that he had grown up calling Voldemort 'father'.

Harry felt his blood pound heavily in his ears as he recalled how this Voldemort had taunted him; called him son, and referred to his home as Harry's home. He clenched his fists hard as he walked faster. He couldn't help but get worked up.

His mind went to the deal he had made with Voldemort. All he wanted was the Prophecy. If Harry was honest, he didn't think Voldemort was asking for much. If he got the Prophecy and gave it to Voldemort he had a chance to get the compass and go home.

Harry came to a clearing and he sat down, tired from all the happenings of tonight. He felt the phone in his pocket vibrate again. Harry would have answered it if his mind was not still on the Prophecy and what he should do. After a few rings, the phone fell silent.

Harry thought carefully about the Prophecy. Voldemort was after this world's Harry Potter because of this Prophecy. After learning the full Prophecy he will still be after Harry. So really, what difference did it make if Harry gave him the Prophecy? He was still going to be after Harry regardless.

Harry rubbed at his eyes and he felt his body ache in protest of sitting in the cold. Harry came to a decision; he was going to fulfil his end of the deal. He was going to give Voldemort the Prophecy in exchange for the compass. He wasn't going to hand it over soon; only after being certain that Voldemort was going to keep his end of the deal would Harry give Voldemort his Prophecy.

With that sorted, Harry stood up and apparated to the boy's bathroom. He really needed a relaxing, hot shower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What did you think? Please read and review!! Thanks!


	28. Suspicions

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you so much to all who reviewed. You guys are the best! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

_**AU World **_

Harry and Damien were in the kitchen, sitting at the table and watching their two frantic parents as they tried the phone again. It was now past eleven at night and their Christmas day guests had returned to their respective homes. Only then did James and Lily let the two boys know that they were having trouble reaching Harry.

Since then, the two boys were at their parents' side, waiting for Harry to answer his phone. They didn't have any other way to contact him after all.

James tried the phone again and waited, the phone set to loudspeaker. After the first three rings, the phone clicked and Harry's voice filled the kitchen.

"Hello"

All four Potters let out a breath of relief.

"Oh thank God," Lily said as she rushed towards the phone. "Where have you been?!" she yelled at the phone.

"Mum? What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Harry, are you okay? We've been trying to contact you all night, where were you?" James asked, his voice betraying his concern.

"Oh, sorry about that." Harry's voice rang in the kitchen. "I was out and I couldn't answer the phone."

James and Lily shared an alarmed look. At the table, Damien and Harry did the same.

"Why couldn't you answer the phone? Are you okay?" James asked again.

"Seriously, dad, stop asking me that. I'm fine." Harry answered in an annoyed tone.

"What time is it there?" Lily asked.

"About six in the morning." Harry answered.

"Why were you out of Hogwarts at night and did you stay out all night!?" Lily asked both in concern and anger.

"I couldn't sleep." came Harry's simple answer.

Again, James and Lily shared a panicked look.

"Harry, are you still having trouble sleeping?" Lily asked, a lot gently this time.

"No, it's not like that. I just had a restless night, so I went out for a bit." Harry answered.

James and Lily didn't look convinced but they didn't ask anymore questions about Harry's sleepless night. Instead they talked about Christmas and what had happened during their day. Harry listened mostly, giving small confirmations that he was still there.

At the table Damien and Harry sat quietly, listening to the conversation.

"I should get going now." Harry's voice sounded.

"Okay, we'll call you tomorrow." James said.

"Is Damien still up?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, he's right here." James said, looking over at the boy.

"I need to speak to him, just a quick word." Harry said.

James switched the phone off loudspeaker and handed it to Damien. But the boy still chose to go out into the living room before speaking to his brother.

"Hey, I'm here." Damien said, once he was seated on the sofa, alone in the living room.

"Hey, how were things today?" Harry greeted. "Did you fix things with Harry?"

"Yeah, I did. We're cool." Damien replied. "Today actually went well, dad finally talked me too." Damien said, a smile taking over him.

"Yeah? About time." Harry commented.

"He's made me promise to never keep things from him again." Damien explained.

"And how is that different to all the other times?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to keep the promise this time and not let you suck me into trouble." Damien told him.

"Good luck." Harry returned.

"So, how was your night? Where did you really go?" Damien asked.

"Just out, like I told mum and dad." Harry answered. "Actually I need you to do something for me." Harry said.

"There's a surprise." Damien joked.

"Think back over the last few months," Harry instructed, his voice taking on a serious tone. "Has anything happened that seems…strange."

"I don't know what you mean." Damien answered, confused by the question.

"I mean, something unexplainable, or weird that doesn't make sense. Think over the last few weeks, does anything come to mind?" Harry asked.

"No, nothing like that." Damien answered, still confused. "Why are you asking?"

Harry took a moment to answer.

"I'm trying to figure something out. Just have a good think about what's been happening in the last few months, especially the last four weeks or so. If you remember anything, let me know, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Damien answered, still wondering why Harry needed to know what was happening in this world. "You don't sound right," Damien said, picking up on the small signs that suggested Harry's mind was preoccupied.

"I'm tired, that's all." Harry answered. "On that note, I better get going. I'll talk to you later okay? Let me know if you remember anything."

"Okay, bye." Damien hung up and for a moment just sat on the sofa, taking in Harry's conversation. Something was definitely up with him. Damien wondered where Harry had gone tonight and what had happened to make Harry want to know if anything strange had happened in this world.

Shaking his head, Damien got up and walked back into the kitchen. James, Lily and Harry were still there and were having a cup of hot chocolate. Damien sat at the table and picked up the steaming cup left for him.

"Everything okay?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Damien answered.

James looked like he wanted to say something to him but he stopped himself, choosing to take another gulp from his mug.

"It was a good day." Lily said, finishing her mug and getting up from the table.

"Yeah, it went well." James agreed.

"I can't believe everything went according to plan. It makes a nice change." Damien commented.

"You know what I can't believe? That I spent my Christmas with Draco Malfoy." Harry said, a smile on his lips. He shook his head in amusement. "I tell you, when Ron hears about this he'll die from shock."

"I take it in your world, you and Malfoy aren't friends?" James asked with a smile.

Harry snorted.

"That's a bit of an understatement." he answered.

"Well, Draco is a strange young man," Lily said as she collected James and Harry's empty mugs. "But once you get to know him, he, well, he's still strange but you don't mind it as much."

Harry chuckled at her words.

"It was nice of you to invite him over though. No one should be alone on Christmas." Harry admitted.

"I just hope that by next Christmas Narcissa and Lucius are able to celebrate Christmas with their son. I feel awful about what Healer Roberts said. I hope they pull through." Lily said, sadly.

Damien almost choked on his hot chocolate. The Malfoys! Harry had asked him if anything strange or unexplainable had happened recently and Damien had completely forgotten about the mysterious attack on Narcissa and Lucius.

'That might have been worth mentioning to Harry' Damien thought guiltily to himself.

xxx

The next day the weather was colder and frostier with the Quidditch pitch covered in a thin sheet of ice. But that wasn't going to keep Damien from flying around the pitch, practising his Chaser role with a bewitched Quaffle.

"Aren't you freezing?" a voice called out to him.

He swung around to see Harry, hovering near him on his broomstick.

"Nah, the cold never bothers me." Damien replied.

"Right well, mum and dad have gone to an Order meeting and I wanted to see if you wanted some lunch." Harry said.

"Are you cooking?" Damien asked, catching the Quaffle as it came belting at him.

"Yeah, you hungry?" Harry asked.

"Not just yet, maybe later." Damien replied distractedly.

"Alright then. See you." Harry turned his broom around and started heading towards the ground.

"Hey, Harry!" Damien yelled behind him.

Harry stopped and swerved around to face him.

"Yeah?"

"You fancy a game?" Damien asked.

Harry paused before answering. He could tell Damien was asking partly to make up for pushing Harry away a few days ago when he offered to play with him, but he knew that Damien loved playing Quidditch almost as much as he did himself and would take any opportunity to play.

"Yeah, okay." He replied and shot towards him, grabbing the oncoming Quaffle before Damien could.

xxx

"Damn, you can fly!" Damien smiled as he sat at the table an hour later, tucking into the plateful of pasta Harry had prepared.

"Thanks, not too bad yourself." Harry replied, joining him.

"How come you didn't play this well at Hogwarts with me and dad?" Damien asked.

Harry shrugged as he ate a mouthful.

"I figured I should downplay my skills. For all I knew, this world's Harry could stink at Quidditch."

He smirked at the look Damien threw his way.

"Harry's _amazing_ at Quidditch. He's the best Seeker Gryffindor has ever had! And in one match he…"

"Damien, I'm only teasing." Harry smiled.

Damien gave him a playful glare before returning to his lunch.

"You became Seeker in your first year, didn't you?" Damien asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah how did you hear?" Harry asked.

"Uncle Siri told me. He couldn't stop talking about it." Damien replied.

Harry smiled at that.

"I think if Harry had started Hogwarts from first year, he may have made the team too." Damien said.

"Maybe" Harry agreed.

Damien studied the boy sitting before him.

"I wonder if you can do the things he can." He wondered out loud.

"Like what?" Harry asked, feeling uncomfortable at being compared to his other self. He understood his counterparts past and the things he had done, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

"Like the magic he can do. I mean you both are technically the same person, so that means you both have the same magical core and the same control over magic." Damien replied.

"I guess." Harry said, not knowing if that was in fact true. "But Harry has done a lot more training than me. I didn't even know I was a wizard until I turned eleven."

Damien shook his head.

"I can't even imagine what that must have been like." He replied. "Didn't you ever do accidental magic?"

"I did but I always looked for logical explanations. I didn't jump to the conclusion that I was a wizard and was capable of magic." Harry explained.

"What kind of magic did you do?" Damien asked, obviously interested.

"Just small things. Once I was in school and I was trying to get away from Dudley and his gang. I wanted to get away from them and the next moment I was on top of the school roof."

"Damn, at least you got away from them." Damien smiled. "Didn't you ever get Dudley back using magic?"

"Not consciously. But I did set a Boa Constrictor on him at the zoo once." Harry replied.

Damien sat open mouthed, staring at Harry in disbelief.

"You didn't." he gushed.

"Afraid so." Harry said with a bashful smile.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, he probably deserved it but, _you_ did that to him?" Damien asked again.

Harry nodded.

"I didn't really mean to, I didn't even realise it at the time but I was talking to the snake and then Dudley came and pushed me…"

"Wait, did you say you were talking to the snake?" Damien asked. "You're a parselmouth?"

"Yeah" Harry replied, feeling the usual sting of shame that came at admitting that.

"See, that's another thing both of you can do." Damien went on.

Harry couldn't detect any disgust in Damien's voice and for that he was grateful. He figured since the Harry of this world was a parselmouth, Damien was more accepting of the rare skill.

"I have an idea!" Damien said suddenly, looking at Harry with barely restrained excitement.

"What?" Harry asked perplexed.

"Finish your food quickly and then I'll show you something!" Damien said, attacking his leftover food with vigour.

Harry went back to his plate, wondering what Damien was going to do.

xxx

"I've not shown you this part of the grounds yet." Damien said as he led Harry to the back of the Manor.

Harry followed, still perplexed at where they were going.

"What is it you want to show me?" Harry asked as they continued walking further and further away from the Manor.

"Harry's favourite place." Damien answered.

They arrived at the special training grounds James had got built for Harry. The two boys stood before the massive grounds, taking in the sight. Harry just stared at the grounds with an awed expression. Damien was standing next to him, grinning widely.

"It's a sight, isn't it?" he said.

Harry nodded.

"It's Harry's training ground. Dad got it specially built for him. Harry spends most of his time here." Damien said. "And if he gets it his way, he forces me to spend all my time here too." He joked.

"He's been training you?" Harry asked surprised.

"Why is that a surprise?" Damien asked, pretending to be insulted.

"I just figured he wouldn't be much of a teacher. He seems to have a temper." Harry said, remembering the countless memories he had seen of his counterpart losing his temper.

"I don't let it bother me, his temper I mean. And Harry's not that bad with me in any case." Damien shrugged.

"So, what has he taught you?" Harry asked.

"Muggle style fighting." Damien said proudly.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, that along with other stuff." Damien replied. "You want to see?"

"Alright, as long as I'm not your target." Harry joked.

"I need someone to practise on." Damien teased.

xxx

James and Lily came back from the Order meeting, accompanied by Remus and Sirius.

"Well, that was a waste of time!" Sirius moaned as he collapsed into the nearest chair in the kitchen.

"No, it wasn't. It was actually very insightful." Lily said, preparing the kettle for some much needed tea.

"Besides, I prefer a slow meeting than the tense ones where we're on the losing side of the war." Remus commented as he gently pushed Lily to take a seat and took over the kettle.

"Agreed!" James said, rubbing a hand over his face. "I think Dumbledore is right. We should be on the lookout for this new 'Dark Lord wannabe' before things get out of control."

Lily scoffed.

"Which one? According to the reports, there are about a dozen of wizards all competing to take over the world. I mean, seriously, it's insane!" she said.

"And a waste of time!" Sirius insisted. "All of these idiots wanting to be the next 'Dark Lord' don't have even an ounce of raw magic to propose any real threat. I think Dumbledore is getting over-protective." He finished.

"Prevention is better than cure." Remus said, placing a cup of tea in front of Sirius.

Sirius didn't comment and turned to his tea, sipping the scolding liquid.

The door opened and both Harry and Damien appeared, completely engrossed in their conversation.

"Hello, boys." Lily greeted.

"Oh, hey mum. When did you guys get back?" Damien asked, turning around to face her.

"Just now." she smiled.

Harry and Damien greeted the rest at the table and then busied themselves in getting drinks.

"How was the Order meeting?" Harry asked, coming to sit next to James, interested in this secret group founded by Dumbledore.

"It was good. Just a catch up of what's been happening recently. Any unusual event, anything that could suggest a threat, that sort of thing." Remus explained.

Damien stilled, his back was to the adults so they never noticed his reaction.

"Has anything weird happened?" Harry asked.

"Not really. For the most part, everything is pretty normal." James answered.

Damien let out a breath. At least he had something to tell his brother. He turned around and walked over to join Harry, handing him his glass of pumpkin juice.

"So, the Order of the Phoenix was a group formed against Voldemort, right?" Harry asked after a moments pause.

The name of the deceased Dark Lord still caused a shiver to the adults at the table.

"Yes." James replied.

"So why is it still running when Voldemort is gone?" Harry asked. He had been wondering about that.

"Well Harry, the thing is, just because one Dark Lord is gone doesn't mean the threat is gone too. Unfortunately, there are many others waiting to take _his_ place." Remus explained in his usual calm tone. "Voldemort was not the first Dark Wizard and sadly he wasn't the last. The Order is now focusing on identifying what other threats are present and removing them before the situation gets out of hand."

Harry understood but felt his stomach churn uncomfortably.

"It never ends, does it?" he asked quietly.

"Not in the real world." Remus answered just as quietly.

"Aww, Moony! You're made him all depressed now!" Sirius said, shaking Harry playfully by the shoulder. "It's not all doom and gloom, Harry. Yes, there are idiots out there thinking they can take over the world but the truth is they aren't talented enough!"

"Right," Damien said, slowly. "So until someone really powerful comes along, we should be fine."

"Okay, enough of this talk!" Lily said, getting to her feet and collecting the cups. "I don't want anymore of this discussion." She grabbed Sirius' cup, even though it was still half full.

"But, I was…still drinking…that." Sirius muttered as Lily walked towards the sink with the cups.

"Okay, let's talk about tomorrow then. What time will you and the boys be coming over to my place?" Sirius asked James happily.

"I don't actually know," James answered. "I haven't asked Lily what time she's going yet." He explained.

Harry had no idea what the two friends were talking about so he turned to Damien for clarification.

"Every year, after Christmas, mum goes to meet Aunt Petunia. Me and Dad spend that time with Uncle Sirius." He explained.

"Oh, you and dad don't go with mum?" Harry asked.

Damien pulled a face.

"I used to go with her, but ever since I was twelve, mum stopped taking me." Damien answered.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I asked her not to take me, since all I did was sit there while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at me as if I was a bomb about to go off." Damien said.

Harry understood that feeling all to well.

"And Dudley?" he asked. He wanted to know if the counterpart of his cousin would have ever tried to hurt Damien.

"He usually stays out the day he knows we're coming. Not the friendliest of boys." Damien muttered.

"No, he's not." Harry agreed.

Their attention went back to Sirius as he asked Lily what time she was planning on going over to see her sister.

"Lily, what time will you be going over to see Petunia?"

Lily was still at the sink and didn't answer right away. Harry noticed she was still washing the cups, but her movements had slowed down.

"Lily? What time are you going to see Petunia?" Sirius asked again.

Harry and Damien both noticed the way their mother's shoulders seemed to tense up. James evidently noticed too.

"Lily, honey?" he started.

"I'm not going." Lily finally said.

Her words brought utter silence to the room. Everyone was staring at Lily's back as she continued to wash the cups.

"Alright! Party of the Potters at my place tomorrow then!" Sirius said, happily oblivious to the tension.

James got up from his seat and walked over to Lily. His hands reached out and rubbed at her neck and shoulders.

"Honey…" he spoke softly.

Lily turned around, her face showing a forced smile but her emerald eyes were smouldering with suppressed anger.

"I just don't have the time this year. I was going to work on the second semester assignments tomorrow and I have batches of potions to prepare to replenish the stock and not too mention the amount of laundry I have to get done…"

"Lily" James interrupted in a gentle voice, cutting her off. "I know how you feel but trust me, you'll regret not going to see her afterwards."

Lily shook her head, her smile vanishing from her face.

"No, I don't ever want to see her again. Not after…not after what she…" Lily stumbled over her words, her emotions not allowing her to speak properly. "I'll never forgive her." she whispered.

"It wasn't her," James consoled. "Not the Petunia in this world. You're angry at the Petunia in that other world. She's the one who wronged you, who wronged us." James urged. "She's the one who you're angry at. Don't take it out on the one here. She hasn't done anything." James said.

Lily looked up at James, her eyes glistening with angry tears.

"But she would have. If that had happened in this world, she would have treated Harry like…like…" her eyes flickered to the quiet boy sitting at the table, looking desperately away from her. She shook her head. "This isn't right. We'll talk later." She whispered.

"Okay" James agreed, kissing the top of her head before gathering his wife in his arms.

They turned to face the four very uncomfortable looking people, staring awkwardly at them.

"Um…so," Sirius fished around for a topic to distract from the current tension filled atmosphere. "So…the Flesh Eating Virus! That's got to suck, huh?" he said, nodding at the rest.

xxx

Remus and Sirius ended up staying until dinner, which meant Harry and Damien could spend time with their Godfathers. They wanted to go out and have a proper game of Quidditch but Lily forbid them from going outside when it was so cold. So the four ended up playing wizarding chess; with Harry and Remus up against Damien and Sirius. It was a pointless game as the 'pairs' couldn't agree on what there pawns should do. Damien would yell at the chess piece to go in one direction while Sirius told it to go in another. The confused and irate pieces ended up hoping off the board in protest and had to be gathered up by the four wizards.

Harry was having a wonderful time. He didn't disagree with Remus at first but then caught on that the game was more fun with playful bantering and so joined in. Soon he was yelling things to his players just to contradict Remus. He playfully pushed Remus away as the wizard tried to cover his mouth so the pawn would do as he said.

"Aw, man! How could we lose again?" Sirius said as the third game came to a smashing end.

"We're a better team!" Harry teased.

"Pfft! Please, you both can't agree on a single move!" Damien said.

"Look whose talking?" Remus said quietly with a smirk.

"Hey, anyone know where mum and dad are?" Harry asked as he looked around the living room.

"Maybe they went to the kitchen, to finish their discussion." Damien offered.

Harry felt his face burn again. He didn't like that his mum was deciding not to go and see her sister because of him. It was because of what he had told his mum of his childhood and how his aunt had treated him, that made Lily not want to see Petunia again.

"I think mum's right. She shouldn't go." Damien voiced, picking up the chess pieces and putting them back in their box.

"It's for your mum to decide, Damy." Remus said, not looking at him.

Sirius was quiet, offering no response at all.

"She should go." Harry muttered quietly. "It's silly to hold this against her." he said a little louder. "I mean, it's like dad said, it wasn't this Petunia that did anything wrong. And I think mum's blowing things out of proportion. Aunt Petunia didn't do anything _that_ bad." He rambled.

"Harry," Remus stopped him and looked him in the eyes. "Your aunt kept you in a _cupboard_ under the stairs. That in itself is enough to warrant your parents' anger."

Harry felt his face burn with increased ferocity.

"Okay, so she could have been a little nicer." Harry admitted.

"_A lot_ nicer, Harry. She _should_ have been a lot nicer." Sirius growled out.

Harry hung his head, acknowledging defeat.

"Yeah okay, but that all happened in my world. Aunt Petunia did whatever she did in my world. The Aunt Petunia here could be very different. I still think mum shouldn't fall out with her over what happened in another world. It's just not fair on Aunt Petunia." Harry said.

Damien was staring at Harry. Earlier today he was looking for things that made both Harry's similar but now he couldn't see anything about him that even vaguely resembled his brother. This Harry was so…forgiving. Damien knew that his brother could never posses this gift and strangely the thought saddened him for unknown reasons.

"I'm surprised James is trying to talk Lily into this." Sirius said. "I thought he would be ecstatic that Lily decided to give up on her."

"Lily would regret her decision," Remus said quietly. "Once she calmed down, a year or two from now, she would be upset at losing her only sibling. James knows this and doesn't want Lily to suffer. Despite their relationship, Lily cares for her sister. I think that is why she's so upset at learning what her sister did, even if it was in another universe."

At that point the door opened and a red eyed Lily walked in, holding hands with a tired looking James. They brightened up at the sight of the four.

"So, who won?" James asked, happily.

Harry and Remus raised their hands.

"That's my boy!" James said clapping Harry on the back affectionately.

Damien pretended to look affronted.

"So who am I? The neighbour's kid?" he asked.

"Why? What have you heard?" Lily teased as she passed by James, giving him a sly smirk.

Damien gasped and pointed at his mum.

"Eww, mum! You're not supposed to say that!" he said in a high pitched voice.

Lily only laughed as she sat on her favourite chair and pointed her wand at the fireplace, making the fading flames leap up at once and flicker intensely.

James sat down opposite Sirius.

"Harry and Damien will arrive at your place around noon tomorrow." He said quietly to him.

"You managed to convince her?" Sirius asked, looking stunned.

"She was just angry. She's calmed down now." James said softly. "I'm going to go with her tomorrow, you know, just in case she…does something."

"Good idea. You know Lily, if she gets angry, she might just blow her up."

Harry coughed at the choice of words but didn't say anything. He got up to join his mum next to the fire, to keep her company.

Damien was still trying to collect all the pieces of his chess set. He was missing two pieces. He looked under the table and around the chairs, trying to find the two white pieces.

"When is Dumbledore coming to speak to Harry?" Remus asked quietly.

"I don't know, soon I think." James answered.

"I've had enough of Dumbledore for today." Sirius said with an exaggerated sigh. "I don't want anymore depressing news."

"You mean about what happened to Ferguson?" James almost whispered.

Damien was hardly listening to the conversation happening around him. He was too busy trying to locate his missing chess pieces. He was under the table, looking for them.

"I still can't believe he's dead." Sirius said.

Damien paused in his actions, his ears straining to catch the conversation.

"When Dumbledore announced it this meeting, I almost didn't believe him." Sirius continued.

"There's no motive for his death. Other than the fact he was an Auror and an Order member, there is nothing to suggest why he was murdered." Remus added.

Damien's stomach flipped. Murdered? No motive? That was certainly a strange occurrence. An event that didn't make sense. He felt his skin prickle as Harry's question rang in his head.

"How did you guys not hear about this at work? I mean it's been almost a month since his death." James asked.

"We never heard anything about him. You know he wasn't in the same rank as us. We just never realised he was missing. The last time I heard his name being mentioned was at the time Narcissa was attacked. I heard from Thomas that Ferguson was at the scene when they arrived, he left saying he was going to report in at the Ministry but apparently he never made it there." Sirius said.

Damien could hardly breathe now. He knew straight away that something was very wrong with this.

"It doesn't make sense," James said thoughtfully. "Dumbledore said Ferguson was found at his home, a few days after his death. His ranking officer went to find him when he failed to show up for work. His family took his body and gave him a private burial, probably why you guys never heard anything about it." James offered. "But if he was at Malfoy Manor on the day of the attack and he left to go to check in at the Ministry, why didn't he get there? Why did he go home and consequently, why was he murdered? This just doesn't make any sense."

Damien nearly jumped when he felt something brush against his hand. He looked down and found his missing chess pieces nudging at his hand, trying to get picked up by him. They had found him and had hopped back to him. He quickly picked them up and continued, concealed under the table, listening to the remaining conversation.

"The investigation hasn't had any breakthroughs yet." Remus said quietly. "I just hope the murderer is caught soon."

After that, the conversation shifted to another topic, prompting Damien to sneak quietly from under the table.

"Damien?" James looked at the sudden appearance of his youngest from under the table. "What were you doing under there?"

Damien held up the two pieces.

"Just getting these." He replied. He quickly moved to his wooden box and placed the pieces inside, snapping the lid closed. He had to get the phone from his dad and call Harry. He had to tell him about Auror Ferguson's death and about the attack on the Malfoys. He was sure Harry would get upset at being informed of the attack almost a month after the incident but it was too late to worry about that. "Dad?" Damien called to get his attention. "I was wondering if I could call Harry. Just a quick call."

James pulled out the phone from his pocket without a word and held it out for him to take. But before Damien could, Sirius grabbed the offered phone.

"Do you mind, pup? I haven't spoken to him at all." Sirius said, pouting playfully with his best puppy dog eyes.

Damien hesitated before answering. He really needed to talk to Harry.

"Sure, yeah." He ended up saying. He never could say no to Sirius.

Sirius beamed as he turned to the phone. Remus came and sat next to Sirius, so he to could talk to Harry. Damien pointed out the right button and Sirius eagerly pushed it, bringing up the phone next to his ear. He winked at Damien as he waited for the answer. An inane smile broke across his handsome face as the phone clicked and was answered.

"Hi, guess who?" Sirius said his grin widening. He waited for an answer and then chuckled. "You don't know? Come on, you can't have forgotten your Godfather so soon?" His smile suddenly vanished, his brows knitted in irritation. "What?! No, it's not ruddy Lucius-bloody-Malfoy!" he cried out.

Remus and James laughed heartily at the sight of their friend. Even Damien found a reluctant smile tug at his lips at the sight of him looking disgruntled.

"Not cool, Harry." Sirius admonished.

Damien could hear the faint sound of Harry laughing from the phone. He moved away and joined his mum and the other Harry, not wanting to dwell on how he was going to change Harry's mood when he spoke to him.

Sirius and Remus spent a good forty minutes or so talking with Harry. They wanted to know everything he had been up to and what major differences there were between both worlds. Damien waited anxiously, growing more and more impatient. He wanted to talk to Harry. At last he heard Sirius winding down the conversation.

"Alright, okay then. I will do. You just keep out of trouble, well, as much as you possibly can. Okay, I'll talk to you soon." Sirius was saying, a contented smile on his face.

Damien rushed to his side.

"Pass it to me." Damien said, holding his hand out.

"Yeah, okay, okay, Harry." Sirius said, looking up at Damien and nodding at him. He pulled the phone away from his ear but instead of passing it to Damien he disconnected the call.

"What! Uncle Sirius! I wanted to talk to Harry!" Damien cried.

"He was busy." Sirius said.

"He wasn't busy talking to you guys for forty minutes!" Damien accused.

"He said he had to go. Someone was looking for him." Sirius said. "Sorry, pup. He didn't have time to talk any longer."

Damien crossed his arms and glared at his uncle. Now he would have to sneak the phone away and call Harry later or possibly even leave it until tomorrow morning. He went back to sit with his mum. His mind was overrun with thoughts of what Harry would say when he told him of the Malfoy attack.

'I hope he's in a good mood.' He thought to himself, not looking forward to sneaking the phone and calling him.

---

_**Canon World**_

Harry concentrated on adding the final touches to his potion, ignoring the dark looks the Professor kept throwing his way. It had been like this ever since he walked into the Potions classroom. Ron and Hermione were whispering to him throughout the class.

"Why is he looking at you like that?"

Harry kept shrugging to the whispers, not knowing what he could suggest. He felt the cold stab of dread fill him. Was Snape there last night? Was he one of the masked Death Eaters surrounding him at Voldemort's Manor? Did he see him and hear Voldemort's cold greeting? Did he hear Voldemort call him 'son'?

Harry gave himself a mental shake. He concentrated on his potion, a rather complicated Healing Potion that was brewed specifically for internal bleeding. He added the powdered bay leaves and watched as his potion shimmered a bright green before turning a Clearwater blue. He filled up a vial and corked it, ready to hand in to the Professor.

As soon as class ended, Snape called out to Harry.

"Mr Potter, stay back please. I require a word."

Harry gave Hermione and Ron his usual look, conveying his annoyance. Ron and Hermione were looking more worried than usual as they shot suspicious looks at Snape and pleading looks at Harry.

Hermione mouthed the words 'behave with him!' before being led out of the door by Ron. The door closed and Snape turned to look at Harry, his dark eyes pinning Harry to the spot.

Snape stepped closer to Harry, his hands folded before him.

"Mr Potter, do you have any idea why I asked you to stay back?" he spoke in his usual silky tone but his eyes were fixed on Harry, hard and unforgiving

"You were bored." Harry answered.

"No, and if such was the case, your company would be the least desired." Snape answered. "I asked you stay back to discuss your class work." he continued.

"What's wrong with it?" Harry asked.

"Nothing, which is the strange occurrence." Snape returned.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and fixed the man with a look.

"You kept me back because I'm doing well in your class?"

"No, I kept you back so you could explain to me how it is that you can brew potions without instructions?" Snape asked. "I've been watching you. I've seen you take one look at the board and without copying anything down or working from your textbook, you effortlessly brew a perfect batch. Isn't that strange?" he asked in his usual tone.

Harry shrugged.

"I've recently developed photographic memory. It helps a lot!" he added.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer and he scoffed at Harry.

"Typical Potter. Unable to answer a question without lying." He walked over to his des and pulled the desk drawer open. He held up a vial containing a clear liquid, up to Harry. "Do you want to take a guess as to what this is?" he asked.

Harry didn't have to guess. He knew what it was. He'd had it held up to his face a few times in his life.

"Vertiserum." Harry answered.

Snape's sneer turned into a smirk and his eyes narrowed at him.

"Very good, Mr Potter. Now, do you know what three drops of this potion will do to you?"

Harry could feel his blood rise in anger at being threatened. He kept his eye contact with Snape but used every last thread of energy he had to stop himself from lashing out at him.

"Your point?" Harry asked him quietly.

Snape walked around his desk and stood before him.

"You have only one chance; tell me what's going on with you. How is it that you have managed to brew every potion assignment perfectly? If you feel the need to lie again you may find three drops of Vertiserum in your morning pumpkin juice and then, you'll be telling the majority of Hogwarts the _whole_ _truth_ about yourself."

Harry stared at Snape, keeping his eyes locked with his professor's. After a full minute of silence he unfolded his arms and took a single step forward.

"Why don't you just come out and ask me what you _really_ want to know?" Harry challenged.

"I just did." Snape returned.

"Really? See, I think you're tiptoeing around the real question. Go on, Professor, ask me the real question. You might be surprised, I may just answer you." Harry offered.

Snape studied the boy for a minute before hissing out the words.

"Where were you last night?"

Harry smirked.

"Where do you think I was?" Harry returned.

"That's not an answer." Snape said acidly.

"No, but your question just answered most of mine." Harry said. "You asking about last night tells me a few things. Firstly, it confirms that fact that you are in fact a Death Eater. Of course you aren't as active as your fellow Death Eaters, otherwise you wouldn't be here, asking me about last night, but running to your true 'Master' and showing your memory of last night to Dumbledore." Harry laughed at the look of surprise that flitted across the Potion master's face. "Yes, I know you're a spy, don't look so shocked!" Harry fixed Snape with a smirk. "So, you're an inner circle Death Eater but you weren't invited last night, hence you trying, and failing miserably by the way, to scare me into confessing."

"How did you do it?" Snape asked quietly. "How did you get to the Dark Lord's Manor?"

"Professor," Harry said with an exaggerated sigh. "Think about it. How would I, a mere fifteen year old student, get from Hogwarts to wherever the hell Voldemort is? It doesn't make any sense."

"I know you were there and you spoke with him!" Snape answered coldly.

"Prove it." Harry challenged. "You don't have anything on me. It's my word against yours."

Snape stared into Harry's eyes, his gaze fierce with hatred.

Harry smirked and walked away, picking up his bag as he headed towards the door. Before opening it he turned around to face Snape.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Harry said.

He fixed Snape with a cold look but didn't say anything out loud. The next moment, Snape felt the left sleeve of his robes fading away. He looked down to find his left arm bare from the shoulder right down to his fingertips. The sleeve had just disappeared. He looked up in shock at Harry.

"Two can play this game, Professor. If your Vertiserum is found anywhere near my food or drink, you may find that the next time you're teaching a class, your left arm might be suddenly exposed. Your students might see that little Dark Mark on your forearm. I wonder how they would take that."

Snape couldn't speak. His shock had rendered his speechless. He just stared at Harry.

Harry gave the man a curt nod, eyes still smouldering with anger. He pulled open the door and walked out, not looking back at his stunned Professor.

xxx

"Harry," Hermione started the moment he walked in. "What happened? What did he say to you? You did behave with him, right? Like I asked you to?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, that's what you were trying to say," Harry said, clapping a hand to his head in mockery. "I thought you were saying 'behead him!' you're lucky I didn't listen to you."

Ron roared with laughter as Hermione looked infuriated with the pair of them.

"Honestly, you would think the both of you were five years old!" she admonished.

"What did the greasy git want this time?" Ron asked as Harry started helping them clear the room of its large cushions in preparation for the DA lesson.

"The same as usual; to annoy me." Harry answered.

"Why was he giving you strange looks today? I mean his looks were…darker than usual." Hermione asked.

Harry took a moment to answer. He hadn't told Ron or Hermione about where he had gone last night. Harry knew better than to tell anyone about meeting Voldemort. He thought of how to explain Snape's increased doubts regarding him.

"He suspects me." Harry answered.

Hermione tilted her head to the side and stared at him.

"Really? I wonder why?" she said sarcastically.

"He's never believed the potion mistake story and the more he pushes me the more he learns that I'm not the way I'm supposed to be." Harry said.

"What if he tells Professor Dumbledore?" Ron asked. "I mean, of his suspicions."

The door opened and the crowd of DA members walked in, greeting the three Gryffindors.

Harry's mind was preoccupied with what Ron had asked. He was pretty certain Snape wouldn't go to Dumbledore, yet. He would try to get something on Harry first, before going to the Headmaster. Harry considered what he would do if his secret was revealed to Dumbledore. The thought brought a strange tingle to his spine. He really didn't want the Headmaster to find out. He could only imagine how the man would try to use that information for his own gain.

Harry knew that if that happened, he had a way out. He would fulfil his end of the deal and get the compass from Voldemort and go back home, before Dumbledore could exploit him.

"Harry?"

Harry came out of his musings and looked at Hermione.

"Yeah?"

"Um, everyone's waiting." She whispered.

Harry looked up and realised that everyone was present and waiting for him to start the next DA lesson. He quickly stood up and walked over to the front, shaking all thoughts of Snape and Dumbledore from his mind.

"Okay, today we're going to be doing something a little different." he announced.

Murmurs of excitement rippled through the class.

"Are you going to teach us the Patronus charm?" Dean asked hopefully.

"Or wandless magic?" Lee asked with barely concealed anticipation.

"No," Harry replied.

"So, what are you going to teach us?" Parvati asked.

"The Dark Arts." Harry answered.

Everyone quietened down at once. Hermione and Ron were among the others, staring in disbelief at Harry, who in turn looked at them with absolute calm.

"What?" Hermione voiced.

Harry swept the room with his gaze and walked slowly towards them.

"If you want to learn to defend yourself against the Dark Arts, you have to firstly understand the Dark Arts." Harry explained.

"But that's not allowed!" Lavender spoke up in a shaky voice. "Learning the Dark Arts is forbidden. We'll be expelled, or thrown into Azkaban!" she squeaked.

The rest agreed with her, looking afraid and ready to bolt out of the room.

"You won't be learning how to cast the spells. I'm only going to introduce the Dark Arts to you, explain a bit about them and let you read about them before showing you how to defend against them." Harry explained.

That calmed most down but they still looked against the idea.

"Harry," Hermione spoke up. "Where are we going to get the material to read about the Dark Arts? Hogwarts doesn't hold such books."

"Don't worry about that. I'll find you something." Harry assured her.

Hermione looked like she wasn't certain whether she should be glad to have new material introduced to her or to be thankful that no such books were available just yet.

"Harry, I don't know about this." Justin voiced.

Harry took a deep breath, an attempt to stay calm.

"Look guys, I know you're not happy about this but that's just tough." A few huffed at Harry's words and others had deep frowns. "You can't prepare against the unknown. Learning a handful of spells won't help you defend yourselves successfully. What will save you from one spell won't work with another. You have to learn what will defend you from what spell."

"But you said if we learn the full body shield, we can protect ourselves from most curses." Michael spoke up.

"Except for the Unforgivables." Colin added.

"So really, we don't need to learn about the Dark Arts, the full body shield will protect us from most." Padma said, earning a few nods of agreement.

"What do you know about the Unforgivables?" Harry asked quietly.

Silence met his words. The students looked amongst one another, gesturing to each other to answer.

"Well, we know that there's no defence to them." Angelina spoke up.

"It's a lifetime in Azkaban if you cast any of them." Dean added.

Harry waited until the students had finished. He stepped towards them, a hard look on his face.

"You know _nothing_ about the Unforgivables." Harry stated to the stunned class. "How many of you have ever felt the Cruciatus curse? How many of you can say you saw the killing curse being used on another in your presence? How many of you can explain what the Unforgivables are _really_ like?"

No one spoke up. They all sat in silence, staring at Harry and his merciless gaze as it swept over them. Near the middle, Ron and Hermione felt their hearts leap painfully. They understood Harry's words and the deeper meaning behind them.

"Only those who have experienced first hand what the Unforgivables can do are allowed to make comments about them." Harry continued. "And however frightening the Unforgivables are, there are other curses, _darker_ curses that will make you beg for the Cruciatus. Curses that will make you yearn for the Avada Kedavra."

Shivers ran down a few backs and all of the students had their unblinking gazes stuck on Harry. "You are right about one thing; there is no defence against the Unforgivables. But there _are_ defences against the rest of them."

Harry's point was now crystal clear. The class looked amongst themselves and nodded at each other, realising that they did need to learn about what these Dark Arts were, if they were to attempt to defend themselves against them.

"You're right, Harry." Ron spoke up.

"I'm in." Cho said.

"All of us are in." Fred said, gesturing to the rest.

Harry finally let a small smile break through.

"Good, now come on, we've wasted enough time as it is." Harry said, feeling the strange sensation of his heart leaping happily as the students stood up at once and looked eager to start.

xxx

Troubled midnight blue eyes stared at the spot before them, not focusing on anything in particular. Thin fingers were interlocked and tucked under the chin, mind busy trying to figure out an explanation.

"Dumbledore?"

The voice prompted the Headmaster to divert his gaze and focus on the man sitting before him. He pulled away his hands and sat up a little.

"You are completely certain about this, Severus?" he asked.

"Yes, completely." Snape answered.

Dumbledore breathed out a deep sigh, trying his best to figure out what this all could mean.

"Lucius couldn't have been lying?" He asked his Potions master again.

"No, he is not the type to gossip. He brags, most certainly, but about himself. He would not dare make anything up regarding the Dark Lord." Snape answered.

Dumbledore stood up from his desk, his hands going behind him as he slowly walked around his office. Snape stayed where he was, but he turned in his seat, keeping his eyes on the Headmaster.

"And Harry denied it?" Dumbledore questioned.

A scowl appeared on Snape's face.

"No, he didn't deny or confirm it. But he knew that I knew about last night before I even mentioned a word about it. That proves that he did go to the Manor last night." he said.

Dumbledore dropped his head, his shoulders sagged as if an unseen weight had dropped onto them.

"_Son?_" Dumbledore repeated almost under his breath. "Voldemort called him 'son'?" he asked himself.

"Headmaster, this has gone on long enough. I told you something was not right about Potter the first day I saw him sitting in my class at the beginning of the semester. Everything about him is different. I admit Potter has always been self involved and rude," Snape's scowl deepened. "but now he is unbearable! His attitude in class, his behaviour with me and other staff members is abhorrent!" his dark eyes were fixed on Dumbledore's back as he said the next few words. "I suspect he may not be Potter. He looks different, he's been acting different, we have nothing to suggest that he is in fact Potter!"

"He is Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. He turned around to face Snape. "I have sensed his aura. Many times in the Great Hall, I have reached out and touched his magical aura, especially when he's engrossed in talks with his friends. There is no mistake, he is Harry Potter."

Snape angrily threw aside his cloak.

"Then how do you explain this!" he said pointing to his left arm, which was still sleeveless. "He performed this little trick nonverbally and _wandlessly_! How do you explain that, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore let out a tired sigh.

"I cannot Severus." He admitted.

Snape seemed to calm down at this. He readjusted his cloak to cover his arm and looked up at Dumbledore.

"He had gone to see the Dark Lord. The fact that Potter walked out of the Manor, nearly an hour later without a scratch on him can only mean one thing." he took a deep breath as he couldn't believe the words that were about to come out of his mouth. "Potter has formed an allegiance with the Dark Lord."

Dumbledore held Snape's gaze for long minutes. Finally he looked away and shook his head.

"I don't believe that, Severus. Harry would rather die than join Voldemort."

"Albus!" Snape said desperately, standing up from his seat. "Can't you see the signs? Look at Potter; does he resemble the boy that left Hogwarts only six months ago?"

Dumbledore didn't have a response to that. He slowly walked closer to Snape.

"Do you know what Harry see's when he stands before the Mirror of the Erised?" he asked.

Snape looked confused and annoyed.

"No!" he bit out.

Dumbledore continued unaffected.

"He sees his parents, his family."

Snape didn't say a word but just stood perfectly still.

"Harry would never join Voldemort." Dumbledore repeated quietly.

Snape looked down, his greasy locks falling over his face. He rubbed a hand over his face before looking back up.

"There has to be some explanation." He said tiredly.

Dumbledore nodded before walking back to his chair and sitting down.

"I have an idea as to how we can get some answers. But I will require your help." He said.

Snape smiled wryly and sat back down.

"To catch Potter out, I'll agree to anything." he responded.

Dumbledore leaned forward, his expression solemn and serious.

"Here's what I need you to do." He started.

xxx

Harry's phone rang almost two hours after he had finished talking with Sirius and Remus. Sleepily Harry pulled the phone from under his pillow and blinked at it. A part of him wanted to switch the phone off and go back to sleep, he was so tired. With a yawn, Harry clicked the button and answered his phone.

"Hello?" he said sleepily.

"Hello, Harry. Were you sleeping?" came Damien's voice.

"As rare as that event is, yes, I was." Harry replied.

"Oh, sorry, Harry." Damien's voice sounded very guilty.

"What's up?" Harry asked, his eyes still closed.

"Um, nothing. I…I just wanted to see how you were. You should go back to sleep. I'll call you later on." Damien said.

"I'm awake now, talk." Harry replied.

"Is it okay to talk? I mean, won't you wake up Ron and the others in your dorm room?" Damien asked.

"It's okay. I've got 'silencio' over my bed." Harry replied.

"Really?" Damien asked, sounding worried.

"It's just become a habit." Harry reassured him. "So, why did you call? Is everything okay?"

Damien didn't answer right away, making Harry open his eyes, sleep vanishing from them.

"Damy?" he voiced.

"Okay, I have to tell you something but, please don't freak out, okay." Damien started.

Harry had now pulled himself into a sitting position.

"That beginning can never end in good news." He remarked.

"It's not good news. In fact it's very bad news." Damien said.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Harry asked, feeling his heart quicken with dread.

"You know how you asked me to think back and remember if anything weird had happened in the last few weeks?" Damien started.

"Yeah" Harry prompted.

"Well, I should have told you this then but at the time it just went out of my head. Plus Draco had asked me not to say anything to you." Came Damien's nervous voice.

"Draco?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, actually he still doesn't want you to know but I'm going to tell you anyway."

"Damien, just...just tell me what happened?" Harry asked, his sleep completely driven out of him.

"Do you remember that Auror that came to the Duelling club, Auror Ferguson?" Damien asked.

"Yeah, he's part of the Order too." Harry said.

"Yeah, him. Well, I heard dad talking to Uncle Remus and Sirius today about him. He was found dead in his home about a month ago."

Harry was confused.

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Draco?"

Harry could hear Damien take in a deep breath.

"The day he died, he sort of went missing after being at a crime scene. Apparently the last time anyone saw Auror Ferguson, he was on his way to the Ministry to report about an attack, but he never made it to the Ministry."

"Why should this interest me?" Harry asked.

"The attack that he was investigating," Damien said carefully, "was on Malfoy Manor."

Harry stilled, the words slowly penetrating his mind.

"Draco?" he managed to ask.

"He's fine. He wasn't home when…" Damien faltered here. "Harry, please don't freak out, okay?" When Harry didn't answer, Damien reluctantly went on. "The attack was on Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. They're in hospital and are in a coma. The Healers are taking care of them and are trying their best. They'll be okay, Harry."

Harry found it almost impossible to talk. He was gripping the phone tightly in his hand, listening to all the reassurances his younger brother was giving him. He finally managed to snap out of the shock and spoke.

"When did this happen?" he asked quietly.

"About, about four weeks ago." Damien answered.

"No, when did this happen? Do you remember the date?" Harry asked.

"No, I…I don't." Damien replied. "We were at Hogwarts, it was a Saturday. I remember that because dad came to get me and Harry to play a Quidditch game. But we couldn't because Harry had collapsed that day…"

"What?!" Harry interrupted.

"Yeah, it was weird. Harry was fine and then all of a sudden his scar hurt and he collapsed. Dad rushed him to Madame Pomfrey and…" Damien trailed off into silence for a moment before he let out a noise of surprise. "Oh! I remember, Harry, that was the day dad found out about the swap! He was in the hospital wing with Harry and then Uncle Remus came and told us about the attack on Malfoy Manor. Dad left with him to comfort Uncle Sirius and to talk to Draco. He had been the one to find his parents. When Dad came back he had gone to the hospital wing but Harry had already woken up and had left with mum. Madame Pomfrey told dad that she had done a blood test on Harry and found no trace of the addiction and that was how dad found out he wasn't you."

Harry listened but he could only focus on one thing.

"Harry's scar had hurt?" He asked again.

"Yeah" came Damien's response.

"Do you know if his scar has hurt any other time?" Harry asked, feeling cold fear knot at his insides.

"Yeah, once as far as I know, but at that time he didn't collapse. His scar had flared up and he grabbed at his forehead but it was over in a matter of seconds and he was fine. This was the only time he collapsed from the pain. Harry told me he has never collapsed before." After a moment of pause he added, "He said that the only time the pain had been that severe was when he was held in the graveyard and Voldemort had risen again. His scar had hurt with that sort of intensity then."

Harry felt the unbearable urge to hit something, hard.

"Damien, think carefully, has Harry's scar ever hurt after that day?"

"No, I don't think so." Damien said.

"Don't think! Tell me if you know for sure."

"It's never hurt in front of me. I'll ask him and let you know." Damien returned.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, anger swirling inside him. He knew now exactly what had happened; how Voldemort had known about him, about his past. It made sense now. He knew what had happened because he had gone to Harry's world and had taken Lucius and Narcissa's memories. The fact that the Harry in that world had collapsed with pain from his scar, confirmed that Voldemort had been in the same world as him. That and what Voldemort had told him, taking pleasure in every word. Voldemort's words came back to him, _'I learned everything about what happened in __your__ world._'

"Son of a…" he bit his tongue to stop himself finishing his whisper. He closed his eyes, swallowing back the surge of anger. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, so he could speak. "Tell Draco," he started. "Tell him to inform the Healers that Lucius and Narcissa have had their minds ripped open. The coma is probably self induced; it's the only thing the body can do to save itself." Harry had to stop as the rage flooded back into him. "The Healers might be able to help them if they know what happened to them."

"I'll tell Draco." Damien said. "But, how do you know this?"

Harry had never stopped himself from confiding in Damien. He knew that whatever happened, Damien would always be there for him. But he also knew how much Damien feared Voldemort. He remembered how he had begged for Harry not to go anywhere near him. He knew that if he told Damien what had happened yesterday, he would worry endlessly. So he stopped himself from telling Damien about his meeting and consequent 'deal' with Voldemort.

"That's not important." He brushed off the question. "Damy, I want you to understand this. The next time Harry's scar hurts to the point that he collapses, I want you to tell dad."

"Of course." Damien replied.

"Tell dad because I think, I think when Harry's scar hurts with that sort of intensity, it means that, it's possible that Voldemort is there." Harry said.

Damien was silent, completely silent. For a minute Harry thought that he had hung up.

"How is that possible?" he finally asked in a whisper.

"I think he has the co ordinates for our world." Harry said with worry. "I'm certain that he's the one who attacked Lucius and Narcissa. That is why Harry's scar flared up so bad."

"But, how…how can he…?"

"Damien, listen, it doesn't matter, alright. How this happened isn't important. The main thing is that we know Voldemort can come into our world. Harry's scar hurting will be your warning. Whenever it hurts, get to safety! When you get to Hogwarts, stay at Hogwarts! Tell Draco to be vigilant, I don't think he's in any risk but whenever Harry's scar hurts, notify Draco and tell him to keep safe. Tell everyone, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, everyone to be extra careful. Tell mum and dad to stay inside Hogwarts; strengthen the wards, add security, whatever it takes, just stay safe! Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Damien said weakly.

The call ended after that but Harry never went back to sleep. He lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling, getting to grips with what Voldemort had done. He had hurt Lucius and Narcissa. He had raped their minds and ripped away their memories. That was enough to cause them to lock themselves away deep into their minds. He hoped the Healers would be able to bring them back. He didn't allow his mind to contemplate what would happen if the Healers failed.

He closed his eyes and focused all his energy into staying calm as he thought about all the things that could go wrong. He had never counted on the fact that Voldemort would figure out the co ordinates to his world and would become a threat to his family and friends.

His stomach suddenly clenched painfully, Voldemort had seen the memories. He knew how Harry had been brought up, the lies, the deceit, the training, the assignments, everything had been revealed to him. Harry tried to remember every moment he had spent with Lucius. No one had ever gone with him on his assignments but Lucius had been present at mostly every briefing and de briefing. He had been there when Harry trained; he had been the one to teach him many times. He shut his eyes tightly when he thought about Narcissa. He didn't even know what she has seen, what she had done for him, but now Voldemort knew those memories.

Harry got up and out of his bed. He couldn't rest. He felt sick to his stomach. The only thought that kept spinning in his mind was how he could stop Voldemort; how could he stop him from ever going back to his world, how could he keep those he cared for safe?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review!! Cheers!!


	29. Surprises

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to all who reviewed. Sorry for the delay. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

_**AU World **_

Ron took great interest in his surroundings. He watched silently as the people around him laughed loudly and joked around with each other. He shook his head and picked up his drink, taking a long sip.

"What's amusing?" his girlfriend asked.

Ron looked over at Hermione and lowered his drink.

"I was just thinking; it's weird how our worlds are kept apart but we act the same. I can't tell the difference between this muggle pub and the Three Broomsticks. It feels the same."

"The drinks are better here." Ginny commented, raising her glass.

"I like the muggle music." Damien said, playfully pouting at his soft drink.

Harry didn't give his opinion. He didn't care which world he was in, muggle or magical, as long as he was with those he cared for, he was more than happy.

"I'm glad you guys came." Hermione said, looking around at her boyfriend and friends.

"We _had_ to come. Ron was in such a rotten mood because he hadn't seen you since the Christmas break. I swear he was nearly suicidal." Ginny smirked as Ron glared at her while Hermione blushed.

"We were going to get bored with Sirius; I thought this would be more fun." Ron muttered.

"Well, he certainly looks to be enjoying himself." Ginny said, prompting the other four to look over at the table across from them.

Sirius was smiling and flirting like crazy with a blond haired woman, who was making her attraction plain and clear by laughing loudly at his jokes and leaning in to whisper things in his ear.

Harry shook his head at the sight.

"Would he even notice if we got up and left?" He asked.

"Not now in any case." Damien answered as the blond woman sat closer to Sirius, their shoulders rubbing together. "Can you imagine what would happen if mum and dad finished meeting with Aunt Petunia and went back to Grimmauld place and couldn't find us?" Damien asked with a smirk. "Mum would probably go ballistic."

Harry could imagine Lily tearing apart the Headquarter, looking for them. He wondered how the meeting between his mum and aunt was going. He hoped his mum was okay, she had looked quite worked up when she left with James this afternoon.

He was silently grateful to Sirius for inviting Ron and Ginny to come over and keep them company. But Ron had been downright miserable because he hadn't seen Hermione for so long and his mood was infectious. Sirius decided to cheer Ron up and took them all to Hermione's parents' house, where she was spending her holidays. She was the one who suggested they visited the local pub for a round of drinks and that's how they ended up here, and Sirius ended up chatting up the pretty girl at the next table.

A hand touched his, making Harry look up.

"Are you okay? You're awfully quiet." Ginny asked.

Harry nodded his head, carefully moving his hand away.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about mum and Aunt Petunia. I hope things go well." Harry answered.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Hermione consoled.

"And if anything _does_ go wrong, well, not much of a waste anyway." Damien joked.

Harry didn't say anything but hoped silently that things worked out between his mum and her sister.

"I'll get another round?" Harry asked as he stood up.

The others nodded and Harry turned around to head towards the bar.

"Alex?"

It took Harry a moment or two to react to the name. He had seen enough of his counterpart's memories to know that 'Alex' was his counterpart's alias. He turned to the direction of the sound and saw a dark haired woman rushing towards him with a bright smile on her face. The others watched with growing interest as the attractive brunette reached Harry's side.

"Oh my God, Alex, it is you! How have you been?" she asked as she enveloped Harry into a hug.

Damien's mouth dropped open at the intimate embrace and he turned to look at Ginny, who had her brown eyes narrowed and fixed on the other woman.

Harry seemed blind sighted but he recovered as he was released.

"I'm fine. How are you?" he asked, keeping up pretences.

"Good, I've been good." the brunette smiled and Harry found himself melting at the sight. She was rather lovely looking; silky brown hair that touched her shoulders, bright blue eyes that were encased between long black eyelashes. Harry could tell she was older than the Harry of this world. She definitely looked over the age of eighteen. The woman was studying Harry too, looking him up and down. "Damn Alex, you look younger every time I see you!" she laughed.

Harry laughed nervously with her and ran a hand through his messy hair. If she knew that he was only fifteen…

"Hem, hem!"

Harry looked up to see the other four staring at him. Hermione motioned to the chair next to her and gave him a pointed look.

"Um, do you want to join us?" Harry asked the stranger.

The brunette turned and waved at her friend, who was waiting by the door, gesturing that she was going to stay. The woman next to the door waved bye and left. The dark haired woman turned back to face Harry and sat down with a smile. Harry sat down next to her, feeling heat rise to his face for some reason. He was aware of how close the pretty brunette was sitting to him, her long shapely legs were tucked under the table and were leaning towards him, their knees touching. Harry focused on her face.

The stranger looked at the others and then turned to Harry.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" she asked.

"Oh! Yeah, um, sorry." Harry said. He quickly ran through the group. "These are my friends; Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley, and this is my brother; Damien."

The dark haired woman looked surprised at Damien's introduction.

"You never told me you had a brother." She said to Harry, but flashed a dazzling smile at the younger boy. Damien smiled back, a dreamy look in his eyes.

She waited for Harry to introduce her but he carefully avoided looking at her. He had not seen her in any of Harry's 'Alex' memories. Thankfully she didn't stretch the uncomfortable silence too long.

"I'll introduce myself, I'm Amy Jackson," the brunette said with another bright smile, then she elbowed Harry gently and added, "Alex's girlfriend."

Damien almost let out a squeak of surprise but he managed to muffle it in time. Ron was looking at Amy with very round, wide eyes. Hermione was just staring at her, her lips pressed into a thin line. But Ginny was looking like she was about to spontaneously combust. Her fury filled eyes settled on Harry who was looking very lost and confused.

"You're my what?" he asked, his voice sounding rather high.

Amy laughed and swatted Harry's arm.

"Alright, ex-girlfriend then." She revised.

Ron, Damien and Hermione looked relieved but Ginny looked even angrier.

Amy continued talking with Harry, unaware of the others. "It's been what, about two years, since I last saw you. Where did you disappear to?" she enquired. "You never called me or anything. No one saw you at the club either."

Harry looked at his friends for help but they just looked back at him, lost as to what they could say.

"I was, caught up in something." Harry mumbled.

Amy looked at him intensely and then smiled a little.

"Just as I remember, ever so mysterious."

Harry could feel his face heat up at the look in Amy's eyes. Amy moved closer to Harry and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Listen, it's been so long, I would love to catch up with you. My friend is having a New Years Eve party. Do you want come?" she asked, in an alluring tone.

With great effort, Harry shook his head.

"Sorry, can't. I have plans for New Years Eve."

Amy looked disappointed but she recovered and smiled flirtingly at him.

"Alright, how about later on tonight?"

Harry could feel Ginny's fiery eyes on him.

"Amy, I'm actually seeing someone." He said, without looking at Ginny.

Amy moved back a little, making Harry feel like he could breathe easily again.

"I should have guessed as much." Amy said. "But if you remember, you owe me a dance." Her lips twitched into a mischievous smile. "Do you still go to _Destiny_?"

Harry nodded his head awkwardly.

"Sometimes." He lied.

Amy stood up, swinging her bag onto her shoulder.

"Maybe I'll see you there." She said. She waved bye to the rest before leaning over beside Harry. "Bye Alex, don't disappear on me again. I want that dance." She whispered. With that she leaned in and kissed Harry on the cheek.

Amy left without another word, leaving a stunned Harry facing the equally stunned teens.

"What in the name of Merlin, was that?!" Damien asked.

Harry shook his head.

"Just when I thought all secrets were over."

"He dated muggles!? This is…but he hated muggles!" Ron said, then lowered his voice as the woman sitting at the next table turned to give him an odd stare.

"I don't think he did. He hated those who were muggle born and that was only because of his upbringing. He trained in muggle combat for years, he must have realised that they weren't all that bad." Hermione mused.

"Gin? You okay?" Damien asked, looking at his friend in concern.

All eyes turned to the red haired girl who looked like she was in shock.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked.

Slowly the girl looked over at Hermione.

"I can't believe that was Harry's ex." She said quietly.

"Technically, she was Alex's ex." Damien corrected.

Ginny ignored him.

"He never told me he's had...others." she said.

Before anyone could say anything to her, Sirius arrived, grinning like mad.

"Bloody amazing pub this is, isn't it!?" he said, holding a napkin that had a phone number scribbled on it. He was fanning his face with it, eyes twinkling with happiness. His smile fell from his face when he took in the expressions of the five before him.

"Who died?" he asked looking among them.

xxx

Sirius insisted that everyone stayed for dinner, so even when James and Lily returned from their visit to Privet Drive they couldn't leave Grimmauld place.

Harry noted, with a deep sense of relief, that his mum looked a lot happier than she had this morning.

"Looks, like things went well at Aunt Petunia's." He whispered to Damien as they set up the table for dinner.

"Either that or mum bewitched all of Aunt Petunia's crockery to dance around and smash into each other." Damien replied. At Harry's odd look he shrugged his shoulders and murmured. "It's happened."

Ginny was awfully quiet but she was slowly working herself up into a fury. She kept slamming the plates down onto the table, making the other four wince at the sound.

"Ginny, maybe I should take over." Hermione said, offering to take the plates from her. Ginny didn't notice.

"Did you see how she was talking? Like we had nothing better to do but hear her talk! I swear I hate girls like that." Ginny spat and another plate came slamming down onto the table. "And did you see how she was dressed? What was up with her skirt? Could it have been any shorter?" she made a face and snorted, "slut!" and another plate was thrown onto a place setting.

"I think that one has cracked." Hermione whispered.

"I agree, she's totally cracked." Ron whispered back.

"I was talking about the plate." Hermione hissed back.

"And did you notice, she was all over Harry even _after_ he told her he was with someone. Decent girls don't do that! She was just nasty." Ginny continued.

"Yeah, nasty but she had lovely legs." Damien said dreamily.

"Damy!" Ginny yelled.

"What!? I can't say anything nice about her?" he asked.

"No, you can't!" Ginny snapped back.

"Ginny, just calm down." Ron said, taking the last of the plates from her.

"What? I am calm!" Ginny yelled. She grabbed the cutlery from Harry's hands and started slamming them down on the table. "Harry's girlfriend! Ha! What a joke? How can she be Harry's girlfriend when she doesn't even know where he's been in the last two years!? It's crazy." She looked up at the rest and held out a butter knife as she spoke, "do you know what else is crazy?" she asked.

"You, right about now?" Damien answered.

"It's crazy to assume that Harry would _ever_ go out with the likes of her! I mean you saw her! What age was she? At least twenty something! She's too old for Harry!" Ginny went on. She resumed her job of slamming down the cutlery.

Hermione stepped up to her and took the remaining knives and forks out of her hands.

"You remember what Harry told us? He mentioned once that he used to take an aging potion so he could participate in fights at the muggle clubs. And Amy made a comment about how young Harry looked today. I think Harry disguised his true age when he went out with Amy. It's not her fault, its Harry's."

Ginny opened her mouth to argue but then seemed to lose all of her anger at Hermione's words. She sat down dejectedly in one of the chairs.

"I can't believe she was Harry's ex." Ginny said.

"You already said that." Hermione said, sitting down in the chair next to her. The boys stayed standing.

Ginny shook her head.

"I guess, I just never considered the fact that Harry may have had other girlfriends. I just assumed he wouldn't be permitted to have a social life when he was growing up. I mean can you imagine what Voldemort would have said if he found out Harry was dating?" she asked.

"I would have liked to see his face when he learned Harry was dating _Muggles_." Harry muttered to Ron and Damien.

Both boys agreed.

"And its worse that he dated girls like Amy." Ginny said in a small voice.

"What do you mean, 'girls like Amy'?" Hermione asked.

Ginny gave her a look.

"Come on, Hermione. Didn't you see her? She was so…pretty and…grown up and…all, manicured nails and short skirts and…and Harry dated her! Harry _liked_ her." Ginny shook her head. "How can he like her and then like me?"

"Aw, come on, Ginny. Don't think about yourself like that." Hermione said sternly.

"Hermione, I look like a twelve year old boy compared to her!" Ginny said emotionally.

"No you don't." Hermione admonished at once. "Amy looks different to you because she is a lot older that you. You're right; she must be in her early twenties, maybe twenty one or twenty two. Maybe older. She's bound to look different." Hermione said.

Ron gave a low whistle.

"Harry dated an older woman. He was sixteen when he made out with a nineteen year old Amy."

Hermione turned to glare at him.

"Way to be sensitive!" she hissed at him.

Ron just shrugged.

Ginny looked at her hands in her lap before she spoke.

"Amy said that Harry disappeared on her and that was about two years ago." She looked up at Hermione. "I can bet you that was the time Harry was captured by the Order and sent to Hogwarts. Harry couldn't see her again because he was being held prisoner by Dumbledore. He probably really liked her." Ginny said miserably.

"But that doesn't mean Harry liked her more than you. He went out with her but he didn't go _back_ to her. He's with you and he's happy. Everyone can see that." Hermione comforted.

"I don't know," Ginny said. "Maybe he felt sorry for me; the pathetically lovesick girl who wouldn't leave him alone."

Hermione gave Ginny a stern look.

"You're being silly," she told her. "Pity dates don't last years."

Ginny went quiet, still looking upset.

"You know, you can find out if Harry really liked Amy or not." Damien said to her.

Ginny looked up at him quickly.

"How?" she asked.

Damien pulled out the black and silver ring, holding it up for everyone to see.

"You still have that? I thought Malfoy would have taken it back." Harry said.

"Draco never asked for it back so I've been holding on to it." he looked at Ginny, a grin on his face. "So what do you say, Gin? Should we have a look?"

Before Ginny could answer, Hermione had jumped to her feet and was standing before him.

"You will _not_ do anything of the sort!" she scolded.

"Why not? What's wrong?" Damien asked looking disappointed.

"What's wrong is that this is Harry's private business. It's not right to snoop around in his memories, especially those of his previous romantic relationships." She answered.

"Hermione's right." Harry said, looking apologetically at Damien. "It wouldn't be right."

"Hypocritical much?" Damien returned. "You watched nearly all of his life in here." He said to Harry, holding up the ring.

"That was different," Harry said, looking uncomfortable. "I didn't do that to be nosy. I did it because I needed answers."

Damien lost the spark of mischief in his eyes and looked down, suddenly feeling very foolish for suggesting they look into Harry's pensieve.

"You're right." He agreed, pocketing the ring. "It wouldn't be right."

"Whatever, I'm going in there." Ginny said, pushing past Hermione to face Damien.

"What?! Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed in shock.

"I'm sorry, but I need to know what my boyfriend was like with his previous girlfriends. I'm not going to find peace until I get my answers." Ginny explained.

"Then just ask him." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, like that ever works!" Ginny scoffed.

"You don't even know if there are any memories of Harry and his girlfriends in the pensieve. You may not even find anything." Harry tried.

"I think I'll find plenty since his _muggle_ romances would be a good thing to hide from Voldemort." Ginny returned.

"Ginny, don't poke around in Harry's past. At the very least try talking to him first." Ron advised.

Ginny turned to look at Damien, who had taken out the ring and was holding it in his hand.

"It's up to you, Ginny. If you want it, you can have it." he reached out and offered the ring to her.

Ginny looked uncertain as she eyed the ring.

"Ginny, don't do it. It would be violating Harry's trust." Hermione tried again.

Ginny bit her lip and closed her eyes, her outstretched hands curling into a fist.

"Damn it!" she hissed and turned away, turning her back to Damien and to the ring.

Damien smiled and pocketed it.

"Well done." Hermione praised, as she gave her friend a one armed hug.

Ginny didn't look very happy but she let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's probably for the best that you don't know what Harry was like with Amy," Harry said as he picked up the abandoned cutlery and started setting it out. "You might have felt worse."

Ginny grimaced as no doubt a mental image of Harry with the sexy brunette came to her mind.

"Yeah, you're right." She admitted in a small voice.

Damien wrapped his arms around Ginny and comforted her in his friendly way. As he moved back he slipped the phone into her pocket and winked at her.

Ginny had slipped out of the room within the next five minutes.

xxx

The Christmas holidays neared to an end and Harry found himself, for the very first time, reluctant to return to Hogwarts. He knew that when they returned his parents would be busy teaching and Damien would be busy with his lessons and he was going to be left by himself again, to be bored senseless. But Harry didn't know that things were about to change.

"I have to talk to you about something." Lily told Harry as he came to sit next to her on the sofa. "I'll be honest, Harry, I'm not happy with the way things are right now."

"You're not?" Harry asked, confused as to what she was talking about.

"No, both myself and James feel that it is doing you great harm to be missing out on your education." She looked down as she said the next part. "We don't know when but at one point, you will have to return to your world," she looked up at Harry, "and when you do, you will be expected to carry on with your fifth year. You have O.W.L.S to sit at the end of this year and so far you have had no lessons that could prepare you for them."

"So, what do you think I should do?" Harry asked.

"I've arranged everything with Dumbledore and Minerva." Lily said, an excited look appearing in her eyes and a smile on her face. "You can have tutoring lessons with James and me during a few evenings, when we don't have any essays to mark."

"Okay," Harry started uncertainly. "But that's just two classes, Potions and Defence. What about the rest of the classes?"

"You will attend all classes with the rest of the school." Lily explained.

"You've lost me," Harry said. "How can I do that? Won't that raise suspicion?"

"Not necessarily." Lily said. "I don't know if anyone told you, but Harry had a job offer by Dumbledore."

"I heard dad mention it but I don't know anything about it." Harry admitted.

"Professor Dumbledore offered Harry a new position at Hogwarts. It was to teach effective duelling but Harry turned him down." Harry could see Lily was disappointed by her son's decision. "Professor Dumbledore had told Harry that he was welcome to come to Hogwarts this year and make all the necessary preparations. The Duelling class was going to work closely with the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. So in effect, if Harry was to take the job, he would have to sit in a few of James' lessons."

Harry understood what his mum was getting at.

"So you are going to pretend that I'm taking the duelling job and that is why I'm sitting in all the classes." He confirmed.

Lily smiled.

"Yes, exactly. The students will be told that the duelling class is going to take in all aspects of magic, Transfiguration, Charms and of course Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"And come next year when there is no duelling class, won't everyone get suspicious?" Harry asked.

"We'll cross the bridge when we come to it." Lily replied.

"And what about Harry? Won't he be mad?" Harry asked, not because he was afraid but because he didn't want his counterpart having arguments with his parents over his actions.

"Dumbledore knows that Harry is not taking the job. That's all Harry's concerned with. He will be fine with this." Lily assured him.

"It won't work, I mean not for all classes. How is History of Magic and Divination going to fit in with duelling class? And what about Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures?" Harry asked.

"That's what the tutoring is going to be for. We'll get all the material from the Professors and help you as much as we can. And for some lessons, you can join the classes and pretend you're doing so out of boredom." Lily said.

Harry thought about it, it did seem like it may work. He hadn't even spared a thought to how he was going to cope with Hogwarts when he got back. He imagined what he would feel like if he had to repeat his fifth year, staying back a year while Ron and Hermione went ahead to sixth year. Having to deal with Malfoy and his jeers, having Snape ridicule him in Potions, Harry gave himself a mental shake. This was a much better alternative, he may be able to catch up and complete his fifth year.

"I think it's a good idea. It's worth a try." He replied.

Lily beamed with joy and hugged Harry, kissing his hair.

"I knew you would be up to it." she gushed. "I'll tell Dumbledore tomorrow when he comes for his visit."

"Professor Dumbledore is coming here?" Harry asked, his cheeks tinged red with Lily's pampering.

"Yes, I forgot to mention it. He's coming over for lunch tomorrow. He wants to speak to you as well, if you're up to it." she said, looking concerned.

"Yeah, sure." Harry replied quietly. He felt his heart beat faster at the thought of Dumbledore and telling him all about his life.

xxx

Like Lily had said, Dumbledore arrived at Potter Manor promptly at noon and joined the Potter family for lunch. Harry felt his food stick to the back of his throat as he sat opposite the legendary wizard. Damien kept shooting Harry looks throughout the meal. James and Lily were quieter than usual but otherwise seemed comfortable with Dumbledore.

At last the meal was over and Harry and Damien helped clear the table while James and Lily talked quietly with Dumbledore. Damien kept whispering to Harry as they washed up.

"Don't feel like you have to answer all of his questions. If you don't want to tell him something, then don't. Okay?"

Harry nodded and continued putting away the dishes.

"I don't think he will ask you anything too personal. He's not like that." Damien whispered his assurances.

It was closer to two in the afternoon, before Dumbledore and Harry started their talk. They were sitting at the kitchen table; James and Lily along with Damien were in the living room.

It started with Dumbledore simply asking Harry what happened in his world, on the night of Halloween in 1981. Harry dutifully relayed the events of that fateful night that left him an orphan.

Dumbledore kept quiet throughout Harry's retelling and didn't ask him to explain anything in any further detail. Only when Harry finished with how Voldemort was hit with his own killing curse and had fled from Godric's Hollow, did the Headmaster of Hogwarts speak.

"Lily has relayed her feelings to me regarding your upbringing at the hands of your Aunt." He spoke in a solemn voice.

Harry felt his face heat up rapidly.

"I think mum just got a bit emotional, it wasn't really that bad." Harry said quickly.

"I would like to offer an explanation, if you wouldn't mind listening to the ramblings of an old man." His eyes held a fraction of their usual twinkle.

"Yes, sir." Harry responded.

"From what you have explained, Harry, I think I can safely say that it was nothing more than your mother's love that saved you from Voldemort's killing curse. She gave her life for you and in doing so, she bestowed upon you the most powerful and ancient of magics. She gave you protection and that protection would be the strongest when you were with those who were a part of Lily's bloodline. Your Aunt was the only one who could strengthen this protection and I think that was why you were left under their care."

Harry nodded his head, he knew about his mum's protection, Voldemort had told him in great detail that night in the graveyard, why he had failed to kill him, that it was because of the blood magic his mum had left him with. Harry tried to block out the memory of that day, the day that his blood was forced from him and used to resurrect Voldemort.

Harry took a breath before he started talking about what happened in his last year, the Triwizard tournament, his name coming out as the fourth champion and how all that was planned by Barty Crouch junior so Voldemort could be resurrected using Harry's blood.

Dumbledore listened, his expression growing grim as Harry spoke about that night in the graveyard, the death of Cedric Diggory, the ritual to bring back the darkest wizard of their time and how Harry was tortured into duelling with him. Dumbledore looked surprised when Harry told him about their wands connecting and Priori Incantantuem taking place.

"If I could have a look at your wand." Dumbledore requested.

Harry took it out and put it onto the table.

Dumbledore reached out and took the wand into his hands, studying it closely.

"Remarkable." He muttered. He returned the wand back to Harry who quickly pocketed it. "It is rather peculiar how some things are the same, regardless of how different the events were of both worlds."

Harry didn't say anything but felt a desire to reach for his scar. That was the thing that made Harry the most uncomfortable, seeing how and why the Harry of this world got his scar, it made Harry wonder if there was perhaps more to his own scar.

"I have to thank you, Harry. You didn't have to share anything with me but you did and for that, I'm grateful." Dumbledore said, sounding sincere.

Harry felt uncomfortable with the gratitude. Dumbledore was his mentor and it didn't feel right that his mentor was thanking him for just speaking with him.

"It's really alright, sir. I don't mind talking to you." Harry said.

Dumbledore smiled then, eyes twinkling like they usually did.

"I trust Lily told you of the plans for you to continue your education." Dumbledore asked, changing the topic.

"Yes, I hope it works. I really don't want to be repeating my fifth year." Harry said.

The Headmaster smiled.

"I think we can avoid that." he assured. "Am I right in assuming that your aunt and uncle never explained to you that you were a wizard?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No, they didn't. They told me my parents died in a car crash."

Dumbledore nodded his head; again a solemn look took over his features.

"Your Hogwarts letter must have been a surprise then?" he asked.

Harry grinned at the memory. His uncle had been up to his eyeballs in the letters and he still insisted on keeping them from him.

"My uncle never let me see the letters. I actually didn't know what was going on and why these bizarre letters were addressed to me. It was only when I met Hag…" Harry stopped, his eyes growing wide. "Professor, can I ask you something?" he started excitedly.

"Of course." Dumbledore replied.

"What happened to Hagrid? Where is…?"

No sooner had the name left him that Dumbledore's expression changed. It was so sudden it made Harry stop mid-sentence, all he could do was stare. Dumbledore looked like someone had hexed him, his eyes filled with pain and his lips twitched before pressing firmly together.

"Sir?" Harry asked in concern.

"I'm sorry, Harry. No one has asked about him in so long." Dumbledore spoke quietly.

Harry could feel his heart speed up.

"Is Hagrid okay?" Harry asked, his voice betraying his fear.

Dumbledore looked at him and Harry had his answer before the words left Dumbledore.

"He's dead, Harry. I'm sorry."

Harry felt like he had been punched in the heart. He kept staring at Dumbledore, unable to look away.

"How?" he choked out. "How did it happen?"

Dumbledore kept his gaze on Harry but his blue eyes seemed to grow fiercer as he answered.

"He betrayed us."

---

_**Canon World**_

The Room of Requirement was once again filled members of the DA. The group of students listened intently to Harry as he went through his lesson of a subject none of them ever thought they would learn, the Dark Arts.

Harry held up a small triangular device and showed it to the students.

"This is commonly used by Death Eaters. It's deceptively powerful and capable of destroying up to a four storey building."

Most raised their eyebrows at the sight of the small object. Fred let out a low whistle.

"What does it do?" Cho asked.

"Upon contact it explodes and sets its surroundings on fire." Harry explained. "The fire this generates is inextinguishable for up to six hours."

The students eyed the triangular device fearfully now.

"Maybe you should put that down." Michael said warily.

Harry ignored him.

"The only defence you have to this device is prevention. If you can stop it from contacting you can stop it from exploding." Harry pocketed the device, making Parvati and Padma both whimper with concern.

"What if it goes off while it's in your pants?" Padma asked seriously.

"Then I'll be bottomless." Harry answered without any humour.

A few quiet snickers were heard from the boys. Hermione watched Harry, not taking her eyes off him. She had noticed since yesterday morning, his mood had been worse than usual. He hardly talked to her and Ron and he always seemed lost in his thoughts. She wondered what was going on with him but she hadn't worked up the courage to ask him. With his worse than usual foul mood, she didn't think he would be very forthcoming.

"Now, the curse I'm going to tell you about is termed as a dark curse but Aurors have been known to use it in extreme circumstances. It works almost the same as the device I just showed you, the only difference is that it isn't as intense but it's just as deadly." Harry went on, sounding more irate than anything.

Harry curled his hand for a mere moment before opening it. Gasps echoed around the room. Hermione didn't blink as she took in the sight. Floating above Harry's open palm was a ball of fire. The students stood up and walked over nearer to Harry to make sure the fireball was really there.

"How? How did you do that? That was wandless and non verbal?" Lee asked astonished.

"I already told you, I'm not teaching you how to cast the spells. I'm teaching you how to defend against it." Harry replied. He looked at all of the students before pulling back his hand. "Start defending." Harry threw the fireball towards the ground, making the students scream as fire erupted before them. The fire died away instantly, leaving only slight scorch marks on the carpet.

The DA members scrambled to get away from Harry as he curled his fingers again and created another fireball. He threw it towards them and watched as not one student raised their wand to protect themselves. They threw themselves out of the path instead.

"What are you doing!?" Parvati screamed.

"Teaching" Harry replied and sent another fireball at her.

Parvati shrieked and ducked before running towards the door, trying furiously to open the door.

"It won't open!" she yelled in panic.

Harry started firing more fireballs at the students, making them duck and dive.

"Harry! Stop it!" Angelina yelled, pulling out her wand and aiming at him.

Harry extended his hand and the next moment, Angelina's wand came flying towards him. Harry caught it and pocketed it before sending more fireballs towards the stunned looking Quidditch captain.

Harry sent fireball after fireball, not letting the large group of students turn their wands on him. The students had so far managed to avoid being hit by them and kept throwing themselves out of the way or ducking behind the book shelves.

"Your shield!" Hermione yelled at the others. "Bring up your shield!"

Harry threw the next few fireballs at Hermione and Ginny, who had brought up their shields. The fireballs hit the coloured bubbles and fizzled into nothingness. A hint of a smile came over Harry's face.

"Finally, you're learning." He told the two girls.

Hermione and Ginny kept their protective shields in place but Harry had turned his back to them, focusing on the rest.

Following the two girls' example, the rest started bringing up their shields. Those who managed were ignored by Harry, others found they couldn't bring up their shields. Either they were too panicked and couldn't concentrate or they just didn't get the chance as Harry was focusing on them now. One such student was Dennis Creevey. He kept ducking and diving as Harry started a merciless attack on the small Gryffindor.

"Dennis, your shield! Bring up your shield!" Hermione yelled through her shield.

But the boy couldn't mostly because Harry wasn't giving him any chance to take out his wand. The only other students that were still to bring up their shields were Justin and Neville. Both boys were hiding behind a bookshelf, trying to calm down enough so they could bring up their shields. Dennis threw himself under a table and flipped it over so it would shield him. He quickly took out his wand and tried with all his might to bring up his shield.

His shelter was blasted away by Harry and Dennis cowered in fright as he didn't have anywhere to hide.

Harry sent another fireball straight at the boy and watched as the petrified student, still on the ground yelled out and covered his face on instinct. The fireball went belting towards him but stopped only an inch away from hitting Dennis.

The boy lowered his arms and stared at the ball of fire floating before his face. Sweat was trickling down his face and his breath was coming in short fast gasps. He stared at the ball and then looked over at the watching students. Even Neville and Justin were peeping from behind the bookshelf.

"Did, did I do that?" Dennis asked, confused as to why the fireball hadn't hit him.

"No," Harry spoke. "I did." he snapped his fingers and the fireball disappeared.

Dennisslowly stood up and the rest of the students brought down their individual shields. Neville and Justin squeezed out from behind the bookshelves. Harry walked over to Dennis and towered over him, his icy glare on the younger boy.

"Almost two months of learning Defence and all you lot can do is run around screaming?" Harry asked in his quiet and deadly voice.

Dennis couldn't reply, he wasn't sure if Harry wanted an answer or not. Harry looked around at the rest of the students.

"The fireballs that I threw at you were never going to hurt you. I wouldn't let that happen. But the ones that Death Eaters throw at you will be intended to hurt you, to _kill_ you. You only brought up the shields after Hermione yelled at you to do so. That's not good enough." his harsh tone wasn't lost on anyone but no one spoke up. Instead they all listened as if compelled to do nothing else. "Your defensive magic has to become an instinct. There is no other alternative." Harry told them.

He pulled out Angelina's wand from his pocket and threw it towards her. She reached out and caught it. Harry walked over towards the door, waving his hand to unlock it.

"Start working harder, the whole lot of you! I'm not wasting my time."

With that Harry opened the door and left. Hermione rushed out after him, leaving the rest still inside.

"Harry! Harry!" Hermione called out running after him.

"Go away, Hermione." Harry bit out as he kept walking.

Hermione managed to catch up with him.

"What was all that about?" she demanded.

"Proof that it's pointless to teach you lot anything." Harry answered, still walking ahead.

"You had no right talking to us like that." Hermione said.

Harry stopped and turned to face her.

"Right? What right do _you_ have to waste my time like this?"

"I thought you were trying to help us." Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head.

"It's useless. How can I help when none of you are willing to learn anything?"

"So we made a mistake, it's not that big of a deal. We got it in the end, didn't we? It worked out." Hermione said.

"Not all of you got it." Harry hissed out.

Hermione studied Harry for a moment before speaking.

"That's not what all this is really about. You're not mad at us for failing the lesson, you're mad at something else."

Harry didn't answer; he turned around and started walking away. Hermione hurried to match his pace.

"I've noticed you've been uptight since yesterday morning. Something is bothering you, what's wrong Harry?" she asked.

"Nothing is wrong." Harry spat out.

"Then why are you acting like this?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not acting like anything. I'm just sick and tired of this! This constant struggle to make you and them reach goals you should already have achieved."

"It's not easy, I can understand how frustrating it is but you have to be patient." Hermione tried.

Harry shook his head.

"I'm done being patient!" Harry said making Hermione stop in her tracks.

"What are you saying? Are you giving up?" she asked.

Harry stopped, a few paces ahead of Hermione. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. He turned around to face Hermione.

"It wasn't going to last forever." He told her. "I'm not going to be here much longer."

Hermione bristled like she had been burned.

"You found a way?" she asked quietly.

Harry looked away and struggled to answer.

"Maybe, I…I don't quiet know yet." He confessed.

Hermione walked over slowly to join Harry.

"I was hoping to have learnt more before you…" she stopped herself and looked around the empty corridor. "It's inevitable, I know it's going to happen but, somehow I wish it didn't have to happen so soon."

Harry was genuinely surprised.

"You want me to stay?" he asked, not believing her.

"Not forever, but for a little while longer." She said with a small smile.

"Because you want to learn more." Harry guessed.

Hermione shook her head.

"Not just that. Having you around has been quite the experience." she gave Harry a funny look. "You're like medicine, bitter but good for you."

Harry's lips twitched before a quiet laugh escaped him.

"Medicine, huh?" he shook his head. "I've been called a lot of things, but never that."

Hermione smiled as well.

"Can I ask you one thing?" she said. At Harry's nod she continued, "as long as you're here, don't give up on the DA, not until you have to."

Harry took in a deep breath, trying to decide if he would be able to teach another lesson or not.

"I'll try." He replied.

Hermione's face brightened at once.

"Thanks" she breathed. "At the next meeting, I think you should try and make up for yelling at everyone." Hermione added.

"Don't push it." Harry warned.

Both started towards the Gryffindor tower before Harry stopped.

"Damn, I forgot my books, they're on the Dark Arts, I better get them before someone decides to take them for some light reading." Harry said.

"Why did you look at me when you said that?" Hermione asked.

Harry winked at her before heading back to the Room of Requirement. He was certain everyone would have left by now; after all there really wasn't any point in anyone sticking around. He thought back on Hermione's words, he probably did make everyone mad at him. Harry shuddered, what was wrong with him? Since when did he care if others were mad at him or not?

Shaking his head at his own thoughts, Harry opened the door and then stopped short. He had been wrong, the room wasn't completely empty. Ginny was in Michael's arms and had been in the middle of kissing him when Harry walked in. Michael and Ginny broke apart at the sight of Harry, obviously embarrassed at being caught.

"Harry, I…we were just, tidying up." Ginny offered lamely, fixing her creased robes.

Michael was just grinning at Harry, face tinged pink.

Harry just stared at them. For a minute no one spoke.

"Harry?" Ginny started, noting the cold look in his darkened eyes and the odd look of anger on his face.

Harry turned around and left, leaving the door still open.

"Harry? Harry?!" Ginny ran after him, perplexed at the anger she witnessed in him.

Ginny ran out into the corridor but there was no sign of Harry. It was as if he had simply just disappeared.

xxx

Ginny ran into the common room and spotted her brother and Hermione sitting in their usual place. She hurried over to them.

"Ron, Hermione, have you seen Harry?" she asked breathlessly.

"Not since the meeting, why?" Ron answered.

"He walked into the Room of Requirement when I was…tidying up with Michael." She threw Hermione a knowing look and the older girl caught on.

"Oh, okay, so what happened?" she asked.

"It was so weird. Harry just glared at us and then turned around and left. He looked really angry though, I mean more than he did earlier on." Ginny explained.

"Why would he get mad for you two tidying up?" Ron asked confused.

"I don't know, I'm confused." Ginny said.

Hermione looked deep in thought. She glanced up at Ginny and then shook her head at her own thoughts.

"No, that can't be right." She whispered to herself.

"What? What can't be right?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing, I'm sure Harry said something about having to meet Professor Dumbledore. He probably rushed off to see him." Hermione lied.

"But why did he look at me and Michael as if he wanted to hex us?" Ginny asked, notably upset.

"He was probably just surprised to see you two…tidying up." Hermione said, looking over at Ron, who still hadn't caught on to what the two girls actually meant.

"If you see him, tell him I was looking for him." Ginny said before heading for the door again.

As soon as she left, Hermione got up and hurried towards the staircase.

"Hermione?" Ron followed her.

Both Gryffindors hurried to Harry's dorm room. Hermione offered no explanation as she sat on her knees beside Harry's bed and pulled out his trunk from under it.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Shh, keep quiet." she whispered back.

Hermione opened the trunk and started looking through it. At last she straightened up with a parchment in her hand.

Ron understood what she was doing and sat down beside her.

Hermione tapped her wand against the parchment and whispered,

"I solemnly swear, I'm up to no good."

Fine, spidery lines began to appear on the parchment and the Marauders Map sprang to life.

Hermione looked over to see Ron staring at her with his mouth slightly open.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, you just sound weird saying that."

Hermione huffed at him before focusing back on the map.

"Okay, look for Harry." She told Ron as she opened the map to the full.

"I can't see him." Ron muttered as he scanned the map.

"Me neither." Hermione sighed.

"Where could he have gone?" Ron asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know, but I have a very bad feeling about this." she said.

xxx

Ron rubbed his face as he slowly woke up. He opened his eyes and yelped as Harry's face swam into view.

"Morning" Harry smiled.

Ron shot up and stared at Harry, who leaned back and sat down in his chair.

"Bloody hell, Harry! What were you doing?" Ron asked.

"Checking to see if you were awake yet." Harry replied with a smile.

Ron realised that he was on the sofa in the common room and there was a heavy weight on his legs. Looking down he saw Hermione curled up and fast asleep, leaning on his legs.

His fuzzy mind cleared up and he remembered he and Hermione had been waiting for Harry to return and must have fallen asleep. He looked up at Harry to see him smirking.

"So, busy night?" Harry asked, nodding in Hermione's direction.

"What? No! No!" Ron cried embarrassedly. He jabbed his fingers into Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione! Wake up! Wake up!"

Hermione stirred and yawned before sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

"Is it morning already?" she asked.

"Ah, time flies when you're having, hem, fun." Harry teased.

Hermione looked confused until she saw Ron next to her. She quickly moved to the furthest side of the sofa. Ron swung his legs over and sat up, scooting towards the other side, so both were sitting as far from each other as possible.

Harry laughed at the sight.

"Harry?" Hermione said, just noticing him. "You're back? Where did you go?" she demanded.

Harry smiled and leaned back.

"I went out, had to clear my head." he smiled back.

Hermione looked outside and could see day break.

"That must have been some clearing, it took you all night." she said.

"Relax, it's only six in the morning." Harry replied.

Hermione observed him. He looked so much happier, calmer and relaxed now.

"It seems to have done you good." She said.

"A long walk will do you wonders." Harry returned.

"Where did you 'walk' off to?" Ron asked.

"As far from Hogwarts as possible." Harry replied. He stood up then and started walking towards the staircase. "I suggest you get up and get ready too, unless you want someone else to walk in on you."

He sniggered at the way both blushed.

"We were waiting for you mate, we just fell asleep." Ron muttered, not looking at Hermione.

"Well, if it helps you both, I can go for long walks more often. You know, so you two can 'wait up' for me." Harry laughed before heading up the stairs for a quick shower and change of clothes.

xxx

Harry's mood was considerably better, Hermione noted, as they sat at breakfast. Harry chatted to them like he usually did and ate a plateful of breakfast. Hermione felt happier too, seeing Harry smiling and be more like himself.

Harry noticed the Gryffindors that were DA members were taking care not to look at him. They all looked pissed off.

"The next meeting isn't going to be pleasant, is it?" Harry mused.

Hermione smiled.

"You've decided to keep it going?" she asked.

"Of course, I won't give up, not yet." Harry smiled.

Ron looked between both friends.

"Erm, what are you two talking about?"

Harry shared a look with Hermione.

"Nothing, water under the bridge." Harry said.

Harry looked over when he noticed a certain red haired girl get up from the table and head towards the doors, her bag slumped behind her shoulder.

"I'll catch up with you guys at class." Harry said and quickly got to his feet.

"Where are you going now?" Hermione asked.

"Nowhere, I'll see you in class." said Harry before heading out of the Great Hall.

xxx

That evening, Hermione made Ron stay in the common room and complete his homework. Harry was with them and decided to give Ron a helping hand as the red haired boy was starting to get worked up and kept cursing at the Professors for giving work that was incapable of being completed.

Hermione moved to the table to join Ginny as Ron was giving her a headache. Both girls worked in silence before Ginny leaned over to whisper to Hermione.

"Did you find out where Harry went last night?"

Hermione nodded her head.

"Yeah, he went out onto the Quidditch pitch. Said he wanted to fly around for a bit before he went to meet Professor Dumbledore."

Ginny nodded her head.

"He really freaked me out yesterday. I thought he was mad at me."

"He's not." Hermione assured her.

"Yeah I know. He spoke to me today, just after breakfast. He said he was just surprised to see me with Michael and he left quickly because he felt uncomfortable for having walked in on us." Ginny said.

"Imagine Ron was with him?" Hermione joked.

"Don't, the thought makes me cringe. Ron would go mental." Ginny laughed. "He would probably try to give Michael a thrashing."

"Try?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, because I would give him one first for trying to hurt my boyfriend." Ginny laughed.

Both girls giggled at the thought. Ginny leaned over to reach one of her textbooks and Hermione noticed a small pendant fall out from beneath her robes. It was a stunning tear shaped crystal on a golden chain, which was around her neck.

"Ginny!" Hermione gushed, reaching out to touch the crystal. "It's beautiful."

Ginny looked down at the pendant and smiled brightly.

"Thanks" she replied.

"Is this a present from Michael?" Hermione asked in a teasing voice.

"Maybe" Ginny teased back, tucking the pendant back under her robes.

"It looks expensive. He must be really serious about you." Hermione said excitedly.

"I think he is," Ginny said. "I really like him, Hermione." She confided.

A few seats away, Harry growled at the sight of the two girls sitting at the table. He could hear their conversation perfectly.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked as he saw the change in his friend.

"Nothing," Harry managed from between clenched teeth. "I've got to go." Harry said, getting up and darting to the door, leaving Ron staring behind him in confusion.

xxx

Before Harry knew it, December arrived and with it came frosty cold weather. Harry was delighted to learn that in this dimension, there was no Christmas ball.

"Blimey, the Yule Ball was bad enough, imagine one every year." Ron shuddered.

"I didn't mind it as much." Hermione said as they walked to their first class.

"Was it the ball you didn't mind or dancing with _Victor_?" Ron asked with clear spite.

"Both" Hermione answered making Ron grow red.

Their first class was Potions and as much as Harry loved the subject, he detested the Professor. Ever since Snape's threat to spike his drink with the truth potion, Harry found he had less and less patience for the man.

Snape for his part, was ignoring Harry, which suited the raven haired boy perfectly. He knew it was his threat of exposing the little Death Eater secret that was keeping the spy away from him.

Harry worked on his potion in relative peace, that was until Neville messed up and caused thick grey coloured smoke, which reeked of sulphur, to issue from his cauldron.

"Everyone! Out!" Snape ordered as the students started coughing and gagging from the foul smelling smoke.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins lined up outside the classroom, while Snape tried to deal with the botched up potion.

Neville was whimpering to Ron and Hermione about how Snape was going to kill him for ruining the potions lab. Harry couldn't take the whining so he moved away, opting to be as far away from the bumbling idiot as he could.

Harry had only got to the end of the corridor when he heard the sneering voice behind him.

"It must be hard." Harry turned around to face the Slytherin. "Having to put up with Gryffindorks. I feel for you." Draco said.

Harry resisted the urge to smile at the familiar put down.

"I can think of worse people to hang around." Harry said.

Draco walked further up, his usual smirk playing on his face.

"So, if rumours are true, you seem to have gotten yourself into quite the predicament."

Harry crossed his arms and continued to stare at Draco.

"Never been one to listen to rumours." Harry returned dryly.

Draco ignored him and leaned in closer.

"Tell me, what would your Gryffindorks say if they found out about your little _visit_ to the Dark Lord. Do you reckon they will still stick by you then?" he whispered.

"They'll only find out if you're capable of telling them." Harry returned just as quietly.

"I won't have to say a word. Unlike what you think, I'm not your enemy. But trust me, secrets don't stay hidden forever." Draco said.

"And you're doing what? warning me?" Harry asked.

"I figured I should." Draco said. "Seeing as I know what's going on."

Harry could hear the pride in his words and he felt his patience snap. He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward.

"You think that makes you cool? To know what's going on in Voldemort's life, who he's meeting, what he's doing? You think that makes you special?" Harry asked.

"Of course it does. The Dark Lord only chooses those who are worthy to serve him." Draco boasted.

"It's all very well in theory, but guess what Draco? It's time to get practical." Harry said. "You want to be chosen, fine, he'll choose you. Your dream of getting that mark on your forearm will come true but very soon you'll realise that it's more of a nightmare, one that you will have to live in for the rest of your life, unless you find a way to get out now."

Draco looked surprised.

"My father will…"

"Your father will stand back and watch you die if he is ordered to." Harry finished for him. "Don't try telling me about your father or about Voldemort because I know both more than you ever could."

Draco looked shaken at Harry's words.

"Being a Death Eater doesn't mean you're part of an elite club. It means you are a servant, a slave to Voldemort's orders, regardless of whether you want to carry them out or not." Harry finished.

Draco was speechless. He was looking at Harry but unable to respond.

"Harry?" Harry looked over and saw Ron standing at the end of the corridor. "Snape wants everyone back inside now." he said, looking puzzled at Draco standing next to Harry.

Harry walked away, not saying another word to the Slytherin.

xxx

Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting next to the window, going through their day's homework. Harry tried to block out the bickering of the two next to him.

"Come on, Hermione. I just need the end part of the notes, I think I wrote them down wrong." Ron pleaded.

"I told you, no. I'm sick of giving out my notes all the time." Hermione said as she busied herself in her notes.

"If you don't help me, what kind of friend are you?" Ron asked.

"A strict one." Hermione answered.

Harry chuckled, making Hermione and Ron glare at him.

"What? I found it funny?" Harry replied.

"Is Hermione this annoying in your world?" Ron asked quietly.

"More," Harry replied. "She's older." He explained.

Hermione huffed at the two boys and pulled her notes closer to herself.

"Joke all you want, I don't care." She sniffed.

"Yes, you do," Harry said, smiling at her. "you care so much you'll take Ron's essay out of his bag before breakfast tomorrow and discreetly correct it so he doesn't get a 'T' for it."

Ron swerved around to face her.

"You do that?" he asked, in astonishment.

Hermione was blushing and pulling the feathers from her quill.

"Sometimes, I…I may…do that, but only when you would otherwise fail." She explained.

Ron was looking intently at her.

"You _cheat_ for me?" Ron asked.

"No, I…I…well…I…" Hermione stuttered.

She was saved from explaining herself by Harry.

"What is that?" Harry said, looking out of the window.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked, rushing to look out of the window, glad of the distraction.

"That," Harry pointed at a big shape coming out from the forest and making its way towards the small wooden hut. "What the hell is that?"

Hermione and Ron smiled brightly.

"That," Hermione started excitedly, "is Hagrid."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review. Cheers!!


	30. A Half Giant named Hagrid

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. So sorry for the delay, Real Life is just dragging me down lately. I'll try to update faster. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty**

_**AU World **_

James stumbled down the last of the steps and yawned widely. He sleepily made his way towards the kitchen, taking care not to make much noise. The rest of his family were still fast asleep as it was the middle of the night. James walked into the kitchen and switched on the light and almost jumped with fright as he saw a figure sitting at the table.

"Sorry" Harry apologised.

"Harry! Dear Merlin! What are you doing sitting in the dark?" he asked.

Harry scratched his eyebrow and looked down.

"Couldn't sleep." He answered.

James noticed the solemn look on the boys' face. He understood why Harry was having trouble settling down.

"I just came to get a glass of water." James explained walking over to the sink to fill himself a glass.

Harry nodded, eyes set at the table.

"Okay" he muttered.

James brought his glass of water to the table and sat down, taking a few sips to quench his thirst. He studied Harry for a few moments before speaking.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Harry looked up at him but didn't answer.

"Right, of course you're not okay. If you were, you wouldn't be sitting here in the middle of the night, would you?" James asked.

Harry let out a deep sigh, his hands clenched into fists as they were still shaking.

"I can't believe it," Harry said. "It can't be right. Hagrid could never…he _wouldn't_ go against Professor Dumbledore. He just wouldn't." Harry said, shaking his head.

James let out a sigh of his own.

"That's what we all thought." He said regretfully. "We all had faith in him because Dumbledore had his faith in him. We never thought he would…would fail us like he did."

"Dad," Harry looked up at James, a desperate look in his eyes. "Something had to have gone wrong! Maybe…maybe Hagrid had a reason to do what he did, maybe he was trying to do what he thought was right!"

"Harry," James reached out, placing his had on Harry's. "There was no mistake. Hagrid chose his own kind over us, it was a simple as that." he explained.

Harry's shoulders sagged and he looked away. James hated seeing Harry like this

"Dumbledore shouldn't have told you about him." he said. "He should've known it would only upset you."

"I'm glad he did." Harry said. "I would rather have the truth, no matter how hard it is. I hate people lying to me."

James looked at him for a long moment.

"I know you do." He whispered. In a louder voice he asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Harry shook his head slowly.

"Hagrid is one of my closest friends. He was the one who told me I was a wizard." He said quietly, remembering how the half giant had barged his way into his life and changed it for the better. "I've seen how loyal he is to Professor Dumbledore. I can't believe he would turn on him."

James let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Harry. Hagrid did turn on us, all of us."

Harry shifted in his seat but kept his eyes trained on the wooden surface of the table.

"Were you friends?" he asked quietly.

James fiddled with the glass of water before him.

"Yes, for the longest of time."

Harry looked up at him, noticing the look of grief on his dad's face.

"After knowing him for so long, can you really believe he would do that?" Harry asked.

"I have to believe it, Harry." James said quietly. "I was there, I saw him."

Harry was stunned. Professor Dumbledore hadn't told him that part.

You were there?" Harry asked.

James nodded.

"So were Sirius and Remus. Near enough the entire Order was there, trying to stop him, trying to get him to move out of the way." James said the regret clear in his voice.

Harry didn't know what to say now. Up until this point he was telling himself that there had to be some sort of misunderstanding. He was certain that Hagrid had been set up, much like when he had been expelled from Hogwarts after being accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets.

But if his dad had been there, if he had seen Hagrid with his own eyes, then that meant that everything he had heard was true. Harry dropped his head into his hands, his head was spinning. He heard the scrape of the chair against the floor and the next moment he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You should go to sleep." James said gently. "Don't think about this any longer."

Harry got up at his dad's request and began walking towards the door, knowing full well he wouldn't sleep well tonight.

"Have you told Damien?" James asked as both made their way out of the kitchen.

"No, I…I didn't feel like talking about it." Harry said.

James nodded.

"He doesn't know." James revealed. "No student of Hogwarts does. That's why I was surprised when you mentioned his name the day we arrived at Hogwarts."

Harry remembered that day well. He had been afraid he had blown his cover by asking about Hagrid.

"Why doesn't anyone know?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore didn't want his students to find out. Most of the students liked Hagrid and Dumbledore didn't want to hurt them by revealing what Hagrid did." James explained.

"He covered it up?" Harry asked astonished.

"Pretty much, he told the school Hagrid had moved to Romania to work with a new breed of Dragons. Everyone knew how much Hagrid liked Dragons." James said the last part quietly.

"And the damage? How did he explain that? Three villages had been wiped out, hundreds of people killed, how did the Ministry explain that?" Harry asked. James didn't answer. Harry realised what they had done. "You blamed Voldemort," he said slowly. "You pinned it on him, didn't you?"

"We didn't have to. Most assumed it was him." James said.

Harry was trying to make sense of everything but was feeling his head spin madly.

"It was Dumbledore and Fudge's decision. Telling the truth would cause more panic." James explained further.

"Were there other times, when you gave Voldemort credit for crimes he never committed." Harry asked, feeling his whole body tense.

James looked at Harry closely.

"Sometimes, yes." He admitted. "The Ministry's been doing it for years. If they couldn't find the real culprit, they blamed it on Voldemort and to be fair, most of the times it was him. He was just stealthy enough to get away with it."

Harry didn't know why, but this revelation made him angry.

"Do you think that's fair? Instead of blaming the Dark Wizard for everything that ever went wrong, don't you think the right thing would be to find the real culprit? Or was that just too hard?"

James looked surprised at Harry's anger.

"It wasn't up for debate. The Minister did what he wanted." James answered.

Harry looked away in disgust. His respect for Minister Fudge was slowly ebbing away.

"It seems it's just as well he's not the Minister anymore!" Harry mumbled.

A strange smile spread on James' face and he let out a small chuckle.

"What?" Harry asked annoyed.

"Nothing, if I didn't know any better I could have sworn my Harry was back." he said. "Standing up for Voldemort, comments on our 'justice and fair' system and opinions of the Minister, you both really are the same person."

Harry looked outraged.

"I wasn't standing up for Voldemort! I would never…!"

"Shh, Harry, you'll wake everyone up." James hushed.

Harry lowered his voice and continued.

"I would never stand up for that monster. All I meant was that it was stupid to pin the blame on him and not catch the real culprit."

James put his arm around Harry and led him up the stairs.

"I agree, but there's no point in discussing it now. It's all over. Voldemort is gone and Fudge is out of the office. Mistakes won't be repeated under Diggory so there's nothing to worry about."

They arrived at Harry's door.

"Now, go to sleep. It's really late and I want you to rest." James instructed kindly.

Harry nodded his head and moved to open the door.

"Night, dad." Harry said, moving into his room.

"Night, son." James returned before heading to his own room.

xxx

Damien found Harry sitting in the Potter Manor library, head resting on his folded arms, leaning on a table.

"What are you doing up here?" Damien asked as he sat down opposite him.

"Nothing, just thinking." Harry returned.

"Easy, don't strain yourself." Damien joked.

Harry sighed and straightened up.

"Did you want something?" he asked.

"Yes, my training partner." Damien replied. "You were supposed to meet me an hour ago. I've been going mental looking for you. I never thought you would be here," casting a look around the library, he glanced back at Harry. "You're not into books, are you?" he asked somewhat fearfully.

"Not that much. I read but only when I have to." Harry replied.

"Phew, I thought for a second you were a secret reader or something like that. Terrible thing, being a bookworm. I would know. I've seen what it does to you. Just look at Hermione." He joked.

Harry didn't respond to the joke making Damien's smile slip from his face.

"What's wrong with you? You've been like this ever since Professor Dumbledore came and talked to you." He leaned over closer to Harry. "What did he say to you?" he asked.

"It's…it's nothing." Harry said.

"Which means it _is_ something." Damien replied. "You can tell me, Harry."

Harry looked up at Damien, feeling his stomach clench at the idea of telling him about Hagrid.

"I can't. I don't think dad would want you to know." Harry said glumly.

"Then dad won't know that I know." Damien returned.

"I thought you weren't going to keep things from him anymore." Harry challenged.

"I'm not. I'm just not going to let him know that I know what he thinks I don't know." Damien said with a mischievous smile.

"Okay," Harry said, getting a little lost. "But, I really shouldn't…"

"Oh, just tell me already!" Damien interrupted.

Harry took a deep breath and chewed on his bottom lip.

"Do you remember Hagrid?" he started, anxiously.

Damien looked surprised.

"Remember him? How can I forget him? He was one of my first friends at Hogwarts. Looked after me in my first year, saved my neck a few times too when pranks went wrong."

"What did Professor Dumbledore say happened to him?" Harry asked.

"Hagrid left at the end of my second year to go and do an assignment for the Order. He wouldn't tell me what it was but he was excited about it. Shortly after, mum told me that Hagrid had moved to Romania, to work with dragons. I was a bit annoyed, really. Hagrid didn't even say goodbye. He just moved after completing his Order assignment." Damien's voice held a hint of sadness. "I wish he had come back, just even to say a proper goodbye. But he's happy; he loves dragons and always wanted to work with them. So, I'm happy for him."

Harry shook his head slowly.

"No, Damien, Hagrid's not in Romania and he's not working with dragons." He said quietly.

Damien looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Damy, Hagrid's dead." Harry said painfully.

Damien's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to protest, but the words didn't come out. Harry looked on in despair. Eventually, Damien managed to speak.

"He's dead?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head.

"I asked Professor Dumbledore about Hagrid and he told me what happened. He kept the truth from the students since he didn't want to hurt them." Harry explained.

"Hurt us? How can it not hurt us?" Damien asked. He shook his head, clearly struggling to come to terms with this news. "He's dead?" he asked again. "How did he…how did it happen?" Damien asked.

Harry took a breath, preparing himself to repeat what he had learned.

"He was sent on a mission for the Order; that much is true and it was in the summer of your second year." Harry confirmed. "The mission was for him to find and contact the rogue Giants. Professor Dumbledore said that years ago, Voldemort had convinced the Giants to work with him, creating havoc. Giants are known to be violent and their nature was exploited by Voldemort who used them to kill and torture hundreds of people. At one point, Voldemort lost their support, no one really knows why. The Giants moved to the mountainsides and that was the last of them. The Order had learned that Voldemort was interested in joining forces with the Giants again, resolving whatever issue he had with them. Dumbledore wanted to get to them before Voldemort did." Harry paused, prompting Damien to speak.

"Did they kill him?" he asked with a whisper.

"No," Harry shook his head. "Hagrid came back and reported that he had made contact with the Giants and although they were reluctant to pledge allegiance with Dumbledore, they were going to consider it."

"So the mission was a success." Damien asked, confused as to what had gone wrong to cost Hagrid his life.

"It seemed that way," Harry said, his tone filling with sadness. "Until the attack that came two days after Hagrid returned."

"Attack?" Damien asked.

"Three villages, wiped out completely. Not a sole survivor." Harry said, his voice filled with sorrow. "It was only when they reached the outskirts of the Forbidden forest that Professor Dumbledore was alerted. It must have been the wards that alerted him."

Damien was listening intently, not daring to speak.

"The Order members got there before the Ministry Aurors and tried to stop the Giants. They managed to keep them held back but not for long. When the Ministry Aurors arrived, the Giants acted out and started killing the Aurors, trying to rampage their way out of the forest. The Aurors had to fight back and they started killing in retaliation." Harry faltered here and after taking a deep breath, he looked up to Damien. "Hagrid stood in their way. He wouldn't let the Aurors kill the Giants."

Damien shook his head fiercely.

"I don't believe that!" he bit out.

"I didn't either, but Dad said he was there and he saw Hagrid, begged him to move out of the way but he didn't. Hagrid kept asking the Aurors to cease their attacks but the Aurors couldn't do that, not unless they wanted to get killed. The Giants were still fighting with the Aurors and didn't look like they were going to surrender. Professor Dumbledore stepped in and asked Hagrid to move out of the way, and for the first time, Hagrid refused."

Damien let out a choked gasp, his eyes wide and round. Everyone knew how faithful the half giant was to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine Hagrid refusing a direct order from Dumbledore.

"He couldn't have." Damien said.

"Dumbledore told him to move out of the way three times but Hagrid refused. When Professor Dumbledore tried to make him move, Hagrid fought back." Harry pushed on.

"Stop it, this is crap! Hagrid would never…!"

"I'm only telling you what Professor Dumbledore told me himself." Harry interrupted.

Damien fell quiet but he still looked like he was fighting the truth. After a moment of silence, Damien asked,

"What happened then?"

"One of the Aurors killed a giant and Hagrid lost it. He attacked the Auror in rage, killing him instantly." Harry went very quiet, his voice trembling when he next spoke. "That's when they killed him, the Aurors killed Hagrid when he stepped away from the dead body of the Auror."

Damien could feel his body numb as the words penetrated his mind. Hagrid was killed by an Auror. The same Hagrid that was a member of the Order. The same Hagrid that had been friendly and kind to him and the other students of Hogwarts. The same man that loved showing the students weird and wonderful creatures, that same Hagrid had been killed by an Auror. Suddenly a horrid thought came to his mind and he trembled.

"Did, did Professor Dumbledore tell you which Auror killed him? I mean, was it…an Order member?" he asked.

"No, it was a Ministry Auror." Harry answered. "I asked him the same question." He added.

Damien felt a little relieved that it wasn't an old friend, a fellow Order member that had struck Hagrid. At least it was a stranger.

"I can't believe dad never told me about this." Damien said bitterly.

"It was Professor Dumbledore's orders. He and the Minister covered up the whole thing. They didn't want to create more panic by admitting Giants had gone on a killing spree." He considered something for a moment. "Now I think about it, they probably didn't want Voldemort to know that the Giants had moved against them. That would only double his efforts in convincing the Giants to join with him."

Damien was hardly listening.

"Why would Hagrid protect them?" he asked out loud.

"Because, they were his own kind." Harry said. "At least that's the explanation Professor Dumbledore gave."

"I don't believe that. Hagrid would never take the Giants side because he is also a half-giant. In that logic, he would take our side because he is also a half-human. All of this doesn't make any sense." Damien said.

"My feelings exactly. I know that if Hagrid was protecting them, there must be a reason, a proper reason." Harry said.

Damien nodded his head.

"I agree, something has definitely been kept out."

Harry looked at Damien, a strange glint in his eyes.

"Do you reckon we could get more information about it? I mean it was reported as one of Voldemort's attacks so newspapers will be pointless but if there is another way to get that day's events as they happened…?"

Damien's eyes lit up suddenly.

"Say, Harry, have you ever been to the Ministry of Magic?" he asked.

xxx

Harry looked around the large atrium in amazement. He had never seen the Ministry of Magic before. He studied the large golden statues of a Witch, Wizard, Centaur, Goblin and a House Elf that were sprouting water into a surrounding pool, in the middle of the atrium. Along both walls were lines upon lines of fireplaces. Every so often, a witch or wizard would come shooting out of a fireplace.

"This place is amazing." He whispered to Damien as they walked along the polished dark wood floors.

"There's something I never thought Harry would say." Damien grinned.

"What does he have against this place?" Harry asked as he observed the peacock blue ceiling and the strange golden symbols that were moving across it. "Is it just because he hates Aurors?"

"Nah, it's not that." Damien waved his hand. "It's more to do with being arrested, brought here to stand trial, being arrested again, false imprisonment, torture and nearly being Kissed by a pair of Dementors, that makes him a little bit resentful of this place."

Harry shoved both hands into his robes.

"Sorry I asked." he muttered.

Both boys approached the guard and wordlessly handed over their wands for checking. The guard gave Harry a wary and mistrustful look, but didn't say anything. He turned to look at Damien.

"The purpose of your visit today?" he asked stiffly.

"To see Auror Black." Damien replied.

The guard waved them through, throwing Harry another cautious look. Harry followed Damien, looking back at the guard.

"Damn, you would think I would be used to stares by now." he commented.

"Don't worry about it. Just shrug it off." Damien suggested.

They arrived at the elevator and quickly got in. they were the only ones in there.

"Are you sure, dad won't freak out about us coming here?" Harry asked. He didn't want James to be mad at him.

"He'll be fine. After all, this is his fault." Damien replied.

"It is?" Harry asked.

"Of course. If he had told me the truth about what happened to Hagrid, I could talk to him about it and not come here looking for answers." Damien answered.

"I think I've been spending too much time with you because that actually made sense." Harry said with a wry smile.

The doors to the lift opened and Harry prepared to get out. He didn't take much note of the brown haired man standing before the doors. He felt Damien suddenly tensing up by his side and that was when he looked around to see him glaring coldly at the man.

"Well, well, if it isn't the famous Potter brats!"

Harry looked around at the man, startled at the man's harsh words. The man's grey eyes were fixed to him.

"What are you doing here, Potter? Come for another robbery, have you?" he taunted.

Harry had no idea who this was or what he was talking about. He felt Damien next to him shaking with suppressed rage.

"What's wrong with your nose, Blake? It doesn't look right to me. Could you not get it fixed after my dad broke it?" Damien asked icily.

The man visibly bristled and snarled out.

"And where did that get the famous Auror Potter!? I'm still a high ranking Ministry official Auror while he's sitting at home, out of a job."

"He's the Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, you dimwit!" Damien answered.

Blake coloured but didn't say anymore to Damien. He turned his attention back to Harry.

"What's the matter? Feeling quiet and shy today are we?" he asked coldly.

Harry shook his head.

"No, I was just wondering what curse I should use _this_ time." he cocked his head to the side, like he had seen his counterpart do many times in the pensieve memories. "I like to be inventive."

The colour drained from his face and he glared hatefully at Harry. Unknown to the two boys, Blake had been reminded of the time he had spent a good few hours scuttling around the floors as a dung beetle, courtesy of Harry.

Blake pressed his lips tightly together and barged his way into the lift, passing Harry and Damien. He pushed at the buttons and with a last hateful look at both boys, he disappeared from view.

"Who the hell was that?" Harry asked.

"Charles Blake!" Damien spat the name. "He's a nasty piece of work! He's been envious of dad ever since their days at Hogwarts. He's always looking for an opportunity to bring dad down." Damien explained. "When it was first revealed that the infamous 'Dark Prince' was actually Harry, Blake acted like he had struck gold. He always took every chance to embarrass dad."

"Did dad really break his nose?" Harry asked, as they started walking along the corridor.

"Yep, along with his jaw." Damien said.

Harry felt oddly proud at that.

"He probably deserved more." Harry said.

"That and loads more." Damien said.

Harry looked around at the boy, noting the smouldering eyes and clenched fists.

"What did he do?" he asked.

"He tortured Harry." He replied quietly. "It was Blake who arrested Harry and at that time Harry was pretty seriously hurt. Instead of getting him medical help, he threw Harry into a cell and cast the cruciatus on him."

Harry felt a shudder run through him.

"Why? Just to hurt dad?" Harry asked.

"Why else? It's not as if he knew Harry, or had met him before. He hurt him solely because he was James Potter's son." Damien replied. He suddenly looked around at Harry. "Did he meet him before? I mean did you see any memories concerning Blake?"

"No, this is the first time I saw him." Harry replied.

"But you said you were thinking about what curse to hit him with _this_ time." Damien asked. "How did you know Harry had cursed him?"

"I just assumed Harry must have, at some point. I mean he's attacked others, he _must_ have attacked him."

Damien grinned at Harry suddenly.

"I hope he has. I'm going to ask Harry about him next time I talk to him." he looked around at Harry and his grin widened. "You sure told him though, he couldn't run into that elevator fast enough."

"I just didn't like the way he was talking about dad." Harry confessed.

They arrived at the dark wooden door with a silver plaque, reading, 'Auror S. Black'. Damien knocked twice on the door and waited for it to be answered. A loud click told them the door had been unlocked. Damien opened it and walked in, Harry following him.

Sirius looked up from his desk and stared in surprise as the two boys entered his office.

"My, my, my, to what do I owe this honour?" he asked.

"Harry's never been to the Ministry before, so I thought a visit was in order." Damien said.

"Really?" Sirius asked. "Didn't James come with you?" he asked.

Harry and Damien looked at each other.

"Erm, no." Damien said carefully.

Sirius eyed the boys before him.

"Ah, so this is one of those situations where I can't say anything to him because he would go mental if he found out, right?"

"Right" Harry answered.

Sirius nodded his head and leaned back in his seat.

"Any particular reason you're setting me up to be murdered by my best friend?" he asked with his usual smile.

Both Harry and Damien walked over and sat down before him, their playful expressions now replaced with serious ones.

"Yes, actually." Damien started.

Sirius sat up, his expression changing too.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

Harry took a deep breath and started talking.

xxx

Sirius tapped his fingers on the desk, eyeing the two stubborn boys sitting before him.

"I don't know if this is a good idea." He started.

"Why?" Damien asked.

"What do you think you'll get out of this? Absolutely nothing." Sirius tried.

"You don't know that," Harry returned. "If nothing else, we'll get some sort of closure."

Sirius shook his head.

"It'll probably be more upsetting." His features twisted as a look of sadness took over. "It's a horrible thing to learn about, trust me."

Harry and Damien shared a look. Damien moved forward a little towards the Auror.

"I know, that's why we're not asking you to talk about it. If you can get us the case file the Ministry complied on Hagrid, we'll leave you alone."

Sirius looked at Damien.

"Damy, I don't think…"

"Sirius," Harry interrupted, drawing his attention. "Please, we need to know everything that happened that day. I can't rest until I figure this out."

Sirius looked torn as to what he should do.

"Please, Uncle Siri." Damien added. "Please help us. We can't go to dad since he wants Harry to just forget about it and he doesn't know that I know about Hagrid."

Sirius groaned and hid his face into his hands.

"Why don't you ever ask Moony for things like this?" he asked, peeking out from under his hands.

"We would, but Uncle Remus wouldn't do it. He would never go against mum or dad's wishes." Damien explained.

"And you assume I will?" Sirius asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," Damien continued. "Must be because you love us more."

Sirius' lips twitched into a smile before he gave a dramatic sigh.

"Okay, I'll get you the case file." He finally relented.

"Thanks, we'll wait here for you to get it." Damien said, settling further into his chair.

"What, right now?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, that's why we came here." Harry answered.

Sirius shook his head.

"I can't get you it now. I need clearance to get through to that department. I can make something up to get in but it'll take a few days."

"But, we go back to Hogwarts tomorrow." Damien said.

"I'll be coming over to see James. I'll bring it with me then."

"You're not going to tell him are you?" Harry asked.

Sirius smiled.

"I probably should but since I love you both so damn much, I won't."

xxx

Three weeks went by and still there was no visit from Sirius.

"He's probably delaying his visit just to annoy us." Damien whispered to Harry as they headed to their class.

"I don't think so. He's probably not got the file yet." Harry whispered back.

Damien shrugged before climbing up the spiral staircase that led to the heavily perfumed, over heated room that served as their Divination classroom.

"I just hope he comes by the end of this month. I can't sleep, thinking about…about him." Damien said as he walked over to one of the cushions and sat down.

Harry dropped his bag next to him and sat down.

"I know what you mean. I can't sleep either. I keep having nightmares about what happened. It's probably a thousand times worse in my head." Harry mumbled.

Harry watched as the Divination Professor glided into the room, her appearance identical to her counterpart's. The same glasses hid her eyes, magnifying them to a comical level. Numerous rings glittered on her fingers, beads and chains hung from her thin neck. Her spindly body was draped in a shawl and she started the lesson in her usual soft and somewhat spooky voice.

"Good Morning children, today's lesson will be focusing on what we learned last lesson; reading of tea leaves…"

Harry listened to Professor Trelawney for about half a minute before his mind drifted off into other thoughts. He had now had his first three weeks or so of classes, under the disguise of preparing for the Duelling class. He was relieved to find that none of the students questioned his attendance to classes, not even those classes that were obviously of no use in Duelling. Like the class he was attending right, what could Divination possibly offer to effective Duelling?

His most memorable class so far had been his Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Harry felt the strangest of emotions seeing his dad standing in front of the class, teaching his favourite subject. Potions, surprisingly, was his second favourite. He realised to his astonishment, that without Snape being there, taunting and ridiculing him, he quite enjoyed Potions. His mum was a natural teacher and made brewing difficult and complicated potions seem effortless.

She had beamed with pride when Harry had successfully completed the assignment. Harry didn't let on how nervous he was about brewing his first potion before his mum; partly because he was portraying his other self and partly because he wanted his mum to be proud of him.

Lily had stayed true to her word and was giving Harry extensive tutoring almost every night. She assured him that once he caught up with the coursework, the tutoring could be reduced to only a few nights. But until then, Harry was finding his days and nights filled with studying and more studying.

"Hermione would love this." he muttered to himself, drawing Damien's attention. He shook his head at him, gesturing that he wasn't talking to him. Damien smirked before turning back to listen to Professor Trelawney.

Harry found himself thankful that Damien was in fifth year. He could attend all classes with him; otherwise he would be on his own. The other fifth years were too terrified to talk to him. Yesterday in Herbology, he asked a fellow fifth year Gryffindor, Edward Bradford, to pass him the pot containing the flower seeds they were meant to plant. The poor boy got so flustered, he dropped the pot before Harry could grab onto it, spilling the sand like seeds onto the floor of the greenhouse. Harry shook away the memory, he hated the way everyone acted so afraid of him.

Damien turned around and rolled his eyes.

"I swear, I could fall asleep at her babble."

Harry agreed, he always felt so light headed and sleepy in her classroom. It was a combination of the heat, the soft cushions and Professor Trelawney's lectures. Of course it didn't help that he had been having restless sleep lately. Stifling a yawn, Harry leaned onto his hand, resting his head against his palm.

xxx

Damien was no longer paying any attention to his Divination lesson. It was particularly tedious today. He looked over to see Harry, his eyes almost shut now. Damien gave him a soft prod to wake him up. Harry jerked up, took one look at Trelawney before his eyes slid shut again. Damien chuckled at sleeping Harry. He turned back to face the Professor. He knew that even if the professor saw Harry sleeping in her class she wouldn't say anything. As far as she knew, Harry was only here out of boredom.

Damien tried to listen to the lecture, to take down a few notes so he could pass them onto Harry, when he finally woke up. Unfortunately, he couldn't force himself to pay any attention. He was idly drawing on his parchment when he heard a muffled sound coming from Harry. He turned around to see him, noticing at once the beads of sweat on his forehead. Harry was frowning in his sleep and his mouth kept opening and closing, as if he was muttering something under his breath. Damien felt his heart jump when he saw Harry wince in obvious pain, a muffled hiss escaping him. Damien's eyes travelled to Harry's forehead, to the hidden scar and he felt himself breaking into a sweat. Was his scar hurting again? Did that mean _he_ was here again?

Harry suddenly shuddered and moaned out loud.

"No, no, no." he muttered, eyes still shut.

Damien reached over and grabbed Harry, shaking him as gently as he could.

"Harry, Harry wake up." Damien shook him but that failed to wake the sleeping boy.

By this point Professor Trelawney had stopped her lecture and every eye was on the Potter brothers.

Harry cried out, his body twitching and shuddering. His eyes were screwed shut and his fingers were clamped around his forehead.

"No, No! No!" he cried out louder, with a panic that made Damien feel sick.

"Harry! Harry!" Damien was trying his best to wake the boy up but no matter how hard he shook him, Harry couldn't wake up.

"Mr Potter? Mr Potter?!" Professor Trelawney came closer to Harry, her magnified eyes widening further when Harry started thrashing widely, falling backwards.

Damien was now in full panic, he couldn't pull Harry out of whatever nightmare he was caught up in.

All of the students were watching fearfully as Harry continued to cry out, body thrashing, his face covered in perspiration. His fingers were still clutching at his scar.

Just as Damien was preparing to run for help, Harry's eyes snapped open, locking onto Damien's. The sight of fear imprinted in the emerald eyes made Damien freeze mid-action.

'Oh no!' Damien thought with dread.

---

_**Canon World**_

Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried along the uneven path as they made their way through the darkness towards the small wooden hut.

"You guys can move fast." Harry commented as the two raced past him.

"We haven't seen Hagrid since the end of term last year!" Hermione told him excitedly.

They got to the door before Harry caught up with them and banged on the door loudly. Harry walked up calmly to join them. Ron was beating his fist furiously on the door while Hermione yelled out Hagrid's name. Loud booming barks were heard from inside the hut. Harry raised his eyebrows at the sound.

"Hagrid has a dog, Fang." Ron informed excitedly.

"I could never have guessed." Harry replied.

"Hagrid! Hagrid, open up! We know you're in there!" Hermione yelled.

Loud thumps were heard approaching the door, making Harry instinctively reach for his wand.

"Should 'ave guessed you three would be 'ere." came the voice before the door was pulled open.

Gasps echoed in the air as the occupant of the hut appeared.

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth as she took in the sight. Ron was staring dumb founded. A whispered word sounding very much like 'whoa' was heard from Harry, but no one noticed.

"Oh, Hagrid! What happened to you?" Hermione asked.

Hagrid waved a large hand, the size of dustbin lids, in the air. One of his eyes was almost swollen shut. Other cuts and purple bruises could be seen on what part of his face wasn't hidden behind his bushy beard.

"Nothin for yeh to worry yerself abou'. Come on, is freezin out there."

Ron and Hermione hurried inside glad to get out of the icy cold. Hagrid held the door open and turned to wait for the last of the trio to come inside. Harry walked over the threshold slowly, never taking his eyes off the large figure. Hagrid's gaze narrowed at Harry before he let out a surprised gasp.

"Blimey! Is tha' you Harry? Wha' happened to yeh?" he asked, his one visible eye crinkled up in his smile.

Harry didn't answer right away. He looked at Hagrid closely before muttering,

"Potion accident, long story."

Hagrid chuckled as he closed the door and walked towards the stove, where he put on the kettle. Harry joined the other two at the scrubbed wooden table and sat down, taking immediate note of the small room he was in. The barking hound came galloping up to Ron and jumped onto its hind legs, its front paws resting on Ron's lap, so it could lick his ears. Ron giggled a little at the sensation before affectionately scratching the black boarhound behind its ears. The dog moved away from Ron and focused its attention on Harry. It tottered over to him and laid its large head onto Harry's lap, soaking his robes instantly with its slobbers.

Harry gave a disgusted look at the other two, who returned his look with a smile and a pacifying expression. Harry awkwardly patted the dog's head, resisting the urge to push the drooling creature away from himself.

Ron and Hermione started talking to Hagrid, asking him where he had been for half the year and what caused all him his injuries. Harry listened as Hagrid avoided giving out any answers. Hagrid offered them the tea, which Harry refused to even look at. He was studying the large man as he sat with a large piece of meat held up to his swollen eye.

"At least tell us how you got injured?" Ron asked for the fifth time.

"I told yeh, it's nothin mo' than a few scratches." Hagrid replied, still holding the meat over his eye.

"A few scratches? Hagrid you can't see through your left eye!" Hermione cried.

Hagrid shrugged his massive shoulders.

"I'm fine." He returned. He turned to Harry, taking a moment to really observe the boy.

"How hav' yeh been, Harry?" he asked.

Harry didn't answer him. He gave him a one shouldered shrug instead. Hagrid nodded his head.

"Ah, figured as much. Don' worry, Harry. They'll believe us sooner o' later."

Harry eyed the meat on Hagrid's face with clear grimace. Ron and Hermione pushed the conversation back to where Hagrid had been.

"Is Order business, tha's all yeh need to know." Hagrid replied.

Hagrid had soon rushed them out of his hut, telling them it was late into the night and they should go back up to the castle.

The three managed to get back to the common room without anyone seeing them.

"Can you believe how trashed up he is?" Ron asked as he sat down.

"I know and he won't say a word of where he's been." Hermione said as she joined him. "I wonder what Professor Dumbledore needed him to do that caused him such damage." she looked over at Harry who was slowly walking over to join them. "Not that I'm criticizing what Professor Dumbledore had instructed him to do, so no need for any funny comments."

Harry however didn't say anything and sat down next to Ron. He had a very serious look on his face.

"Are you alright? You've been very quiet." Ron asked.

Harry looked over at him before looking back at Hermione.

"Just a question," he started. "You do know that he's a half giant, right?"

Ron and Hermione shared a look before giggling.

"Um, yeah! We kind of figured that _big_ mystery out." Hermione laughed.

"I know you think we're not very intuitive when it comes to magic, but we're not that bad." Ron added.

"You know and you're still friends with him?" Harry asked, still deadly serious.

The mirth disappeared from Hermione in an instant. Ron was looking at Harry, clearly hoping to see that he was joking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked. "Why would the fact that Hagrid is a half giant change how we feel about him?"

"Because he's a half-breed." Harry stated simply.

Hermione looked like she had just been slapped. Ron was staring at Harry with his mouth open.

"I can't believe you just said that." Ron exclaimed.

"A _half-breed_?" Hermione hissed as she stood up, unable to stay seated. "I can't believe…how can you say something as…as degrading as that? How can you even _think_ it?!" she asked.

"That's what he is. Not saying it out loud isn't going to change that." Harry answered back. "Everyone knows half-breeds or _mixed-breeds_ are unnatural. They're not supposed to exist."

Hermione reacted like she had been burned. Ron was up on his feet too, standing next to Hermione, staring down at Harry.

"I never knew you had such a disgusting way of thinking." Hermione whispered, clearly hurt.

"Why are you both taking this personally?" Harry asked.

"Because you're talking about our friend." Ron answered.

"Fine, forget I said anything." Harry said standing up. He made his way over to the staircase.

"Remus is a werewolf. Do you feel the same about him? Do you think he shouldn't exist either?" Hermione asked, stopping Harry in his tracks.

Harry turned around to face Hermione, a spark of anger in his eyes.

"What happened to Remus was a tragedy. He never asked be to bit by a werewolf." He said.

"Oh, so you're saying Hagrid asked his dad to hook up with a Giantess." Ron asked angrily.

"No, I…I'm not saying it's his fault, I just…" Harry was lost for words. He took a moment to figure out his thoughts. "I just found it strange to see you friendly with someone like him, that's all."

"Harry's also his friend. He cares a lot about Hagrid." Hermione informed him.

Harry pulled a face but didn't say anything.

"Is this what everyone in your world thinks about people like Hagrid? Or is it just what you think of them?" Ron asked.

"Half breeds can't be trusted." Harry answered back. "Their unstable, everyone knows that."

"Like how muggle borns aren't good enough to learn magic?" Hermione asked icily.

When Harry didn't answer right away, Hermione let out an angry yell.

"Harry!?"

"I don't think that! At least not anymore." he took a deep breath before trying again. "Before I met you, I always believed that muggle borns were incapable of doing proper magic. I thought that being muggle born meant having a weak magical core." He looked at Hermione, who had angry tears in her eyes. "But after I met you, I realised that that wasn't true. You're a really powerful witch and I've seen first hand what you can do."

Hermione calmed a little but still looked annoyed at Harry.

"If meeting me taught you the truth about muggle borns, then meeting Hagrid should teach you the truth about half giants too."

Harry looked doubtful but he nodded his head.

"I'll take your word for it." he told her. He turned to leave again but was stopped, this time by Ron.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Harry turned around to look questioningly at Ron. "You-Know-Who, he taught you to be prejudiced against muggle borns and _half-breeds_?" Ron hissed the term out with disgust.

Harry realised it was true. He had taken everything he knew from Voldemort. He took on board Voldemort's teachings as well as his prejudices.

Hermione walked over to Harry, looking a lot calmer now.

"It's time you had your own opinion, Harry." She said quietly. "If you give Hagrid a chance, you'll see that he's actually a great friend, much like a certain powerful muggle born witch." She said the last part with a smile.

Harry allowed a small smile.

"Fine, I'll try." He promised. "But I hate his dog." He added, making Ron and Hermione splutter in annoyance.

xxx

The Great Hall was all dressed up for Christmas. The holidays were fast approaching now, with only a week left.

"Can you believe it's almost Christmas?" Ron asked Harry at breakfast. "That means you've been here for-"

"Four months" Harry interrupted. He smirked at Ron. "I've been counting."

Hermione chewed on her toast, deep in thought.

"That's a long time." she stated.

"I know, Hermione." Harry returned.

Hermione lowered her toast.

"No, I meant it's a long time for your," she lowered her voice even more so she was literally just mouthing the next words, "potion error," she raised her voice again, "to be still in effect. Everyone knows those types of errors only last for a few weeks, a month, maybe two at the very most." She looked worriedly at Harry. "They'll be expecting you to _turn back_ soon."

Harry played with his food.

"I know."

Hermione waited but Harry didn't say anymore.

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?" she asked.

Harry shrugged.

"What else can I say? I know everyone will become even more suspicious than they already are." He glanced over at the staff table and then back. "But there's not much I can do about it. There is only one solution to the problem."

Hermione shared a look with Ron before whispering.

"You said you had found a way."

"I have, I just don't know if I want to go ahead with that yet." he said.

"What were you going to do?" Ron asked.

Harry tapped his plate with his fork.

"It's complicated." He answered.

Before Ron could ask further, loud hoots filled the air. Harry looked up to see the influx of owls, carrying the morning post to its various recipients. He saw the snowy white owl straight away, in the midst of all the brown ones. Hedwig flew down to Harry, landing gracefully to his right. Harry instantly petted the owl, a smile on his face.

"Hey, girl, feeling better?" he asked.

Hedwig hooted in response and bit his finger. Harry pulled away and scowled at her.

"What? I was being nice?" he said.

Hedwig blinked at him and hooted once more.

Hermione giggled at the sight.

"What?" Harry asked.

"That's how owls show affection. They bite your finger."

Harry looked back at Hedwig.

"Oh, okay."

It had taken longer than expected for Hedwig to make a full recovery. Even after her wing was healed, Professor Grubby-Plank had told Harry that his owl shouldn't fly, not even around Hogwarts. Finally, after months, Hedwig was deemed completely 'back-to-normal'.

Hedwig had no mail for Harry but had just come down to see him, an excuse for her to fly. Harry offered her a piece of toast and Hedwig took it eagerly.

"Don't drink from my goblet." Harry instructed, but Hedwig was too busy devouring the toast.

Ron was reading the letter he had received and finally put it down.

"Just a reminder from mum. She wants to make sure I pack everything and don't leave anything behind when I come home for Christmas. Honestly, what would happen if I did forget anything? I'm coming back to Hogwarts after a few weeks?" Ron mused.

"It's a mum thing." Hermione said, putting down her copy of the newspaper. "My mum does the same. She still insists on packing my things for me, even though I have never forgotten anything, not even on holidays."

Harry looked down at his plate. The last time he had seen his mum, she was doing the same thing to Damien. 'Have you packed everything, Damien? Don't forget anything, Damien! Finish your packing, Damien!' the memory made his heart ache.

He glanced up to see Hermione looking at him.

"You okay?" she asked suddenly.

Harry straightened up.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked before turning his attention towards Hedwig. He drained his goblet before putting in water for Hedwig.

"Remember to pack everything, Harry. Mum's written me to remind you too." Ron said.

"I'm coming with you?" Harry asked, surprised that the Weasley family would include Harry Potter on Christmas.

"Yeah, you're invited." Ron said, finishing his breakfast.

"Do I usually go to your home for Christmas?" Harry asked quietly.

"No, _you_ usually stay here." Ron answered. "But this year, you're invited."

Harry thought about his last Christmas with the Weasleys and grimaced.

"Lucky me" he muttered to himself.

xxx

"Anything special planned for our last DA class before the holidays?" Ron asked as they walked to the Room of Requirement.

"Finish off the last of the Dark Arts. That way when we come back, we can start on something new." Harry answered.

"Like the Patronus charm?" Ron asked excitedly.

Harry had a mental image of how the students would react to him conjuring Nagini as his Patronus form. He shook his head.

"No, I don't think so." He said.

"Why?" Ron asked looking disappointed.

"Seeing as my Patronus is a very big, fearsome serpent, I don't think it's a good idea."

Ron gaped at him while Hermione just glanced at Harry and muttered, 'Figures'.

"I think I'll start with wandless magic." Harry said.

Ron looked happy with that. Hermione didn't comment but smiled to herself. Harry opened the door and walked in, only to stop in shock.

"What the…?!"

The roof of the room had about a hundred golden baubles strung from it. Each of the baubles had a picture of Harry on it, the Harry belonging to this universe, and had the words 'HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS'.

Ron and Hermione gazed around the room stifling their laughter. Harry was gaping at the sight.

"Is this a joke?" he asked.

"No, it's a present from Dobby." Hermione laughed.

Harry turned to look at her.

"Dobby? Now who the hell is _Dobby_?" he asked.

"Dobby is a house elf that Harry freed from Lucius Malfoy. The house elf works here at Hogwarts now." Ron smirked at the decorations. "Dobby's taken a rather strong liking to Harry."

Harry flicked his wand, making the hundred or so golden baubles disappear. It was just in time too, as the door opened and a large group DA members walked inside. Luna skipped inside after them, smiling at the other three.

"Have a nargle-free Christmas!" she greeted.

Hermione turned to look at Harry, amused with his expression.

"I'm not even going to ask." He mumbled as he walked to the front of the room, preparing to start the lesson.

xxx

The phone rang, waking Harry from his peaceful sleep. Harry fished for the ringing phone under his pillow. Sleepily he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Harry!"

Harry woke up all of a sudden. The voice on the other end had driven all the sleep away from him.

"Harry? What's wrong?" he asked his counterpart.

"You have to help him! You have to help Mr Weasley!" a panicked Harry yelled back.

Harry sat up in his bed.

"Mr Weasley? What happened to him?" Harry asked.

"He's been hurt. He's bleeding! You have to help him. Go to Professor Dumbledore! Tell him quickly!" came his counterpart's terror filled voice.

"Wait, how do you know this?" Harry asked, confused as to how Harry could know about an attack in this world.

"I saw it! Now, go quickly! He's really hurt-he's bleeding badly! You have to hurry!" Harry replied.

"Hold on, go back to the beginning. Tell me exactly what you saw." Harry instructed.

"I saw him, Mr Weasley, he was sitting at the end of a corridor. I…I don't know where he was. He was attacked, by a snake. I…I was the snake." Harry's voice shook as he spoke. "I bit him, again and again! He's bleeding very badly!"

Harry could feel his own blood run cold.

"Were you sleeping at the time?" Harry asked.

"It wasn't a dream!" his counterpart yelled.

"I never said it was," Harry returned. "Tell me as much as you can about where Mr Weasley was. What you saw, everything. I need to know where he is."

Harry listened as his counterpart tried to explain what he saw in is vision. He described a long dark corridor with a door which was being guarded by Mr Weasley.

"Did your scar hurt?" Harry asked quietly.

"Fiercely!" Harry responded. "Go to Dumbledore! Tell him about Mr Weasley. He's seriously hurt!"

"I know where he is." Harry answered, before disconnecting the call.

Still sitting on his bed, Harry transfigured his pyjamas into robes and grabbing a hold of his wand, he disapparated, straight into the heart of the Ministry of Magic.

xxx

Harry appeared in a long darkened corridor. He glanced quickly around; making sure no one was in sight. He quickly darted forward, keeping to the shadows to ensure he wasn't seen. As he neared the end of the long corridor, he became aware of the strong, overpowering scent of blood. Harry quickened his pace, running towards a huddled shape slumped on the floor, directly in front of a door.

Harry bolted towards the heavily bleeding man. He kneeled next to the unconscious figure and checked for signs of breathing. It was indeed Mr Weasley, lying in a large pool of his own blood.

"Shit!" Harry cursed when he realised how faint the man's pulse was.

"Arthur, Arthur, Mr Weasley." Harry called out, trying to see if the man would give any response.

Arthur didn't move at all.

Having no other option, Harry lifted the grown man into his arms, as carefully as he could and moved away from the entrance to the Department of Mysteries.

Harry couldn't apparate to St Mungo's with Arthur. He could break through the wards but Arthur couldn't. Harry managed to get to the main corridor and struggled to the small hallway, leading to the elevators. The hallway was deserted. He laid Mr Weasley down onto the stone floor. He raised his wand and conjured his Patronus. Nagini slid out of his wand and curled its large serpentine body to lift its head and stare at Harry.

"Get Moody or Kingsley here. Any member of the Order, go!" Harry ordered.

Nagini darted out of the hallway and disappeared. Harry moved away from Arthur when he heard pounding footsteps approaching. He disapparated just as he caught sight of Nagini's silvery white head appearing around the corner. He knew she had brought someone with her. From the sounds of it, he was certain it was more than one Auror. He left, knowing Arthur would be found by Order members.

xxx

Harry didn't apparate back to Hogwarts. Instead he stormed his way into the Manor, ignoring the few masked men staring at him with shock. Two men stood in front of the oak doors and held out their wands warningly at him.

"Stop! You cannot go in here!" one of them yelled.

Harry waved a hand towards them and knocked them back, straight into the doors, making them smash open with a loud bang. Harry stepped over the two Death Eaters sprawled on the ground and walked steadily onwards, meeting the amused red-eyed gaze of the seated wizard.

Voldemort extended his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"So nice to see you, Harry." He said in his cold voice.

Harry stopped a few feet from him.

"What are you playing at?" he asked coldly.

Voldemort stood up, his gaze fixed on Harry. He gestured to the assembled men that had run in after Harry, to leave. The Death Eaters lowered their wands and obeyed their master, retreating from the room.

Voldemort walked over to Harry, next to his feet, Nagini slithered along with him, flicking its forked tongue out towards Harry.

Harry tried ignoring her.

"Ah, so you have found out about the blood traitor. Strange that, I was certain no one would find his body until the morning." His gaze burned into Harry. "How did you find out about him so soon?"

"That's not answering my question." Harry hissed out angrily. "Why did you send Nagini to the Ministry? Did you really think she would be able to get you the Prophecy?" he asked.

"Of course not. I only sent her to see if the Prophecy was still there." Voldemort said as he stood before him. "I had hoped you would have returned to me with the Prophecy by now."

"It's in the Ministry of Magic, I can't just walk in there and pick it up! I need time!" Harry hissed angrily.

"You've had time, ample time. With your reputation, I had hoped you would have completed your end of the deal by now." Voldemort smirked at Harry, walking around him. "I was starting to wonder; maybe you had changed your mind. I'm not going to wait around forever, Harry. You know me well enough."

Harry turned around to face him, ignoring the smirk that was making his heart miss several beats.

"I told you I'll get you the Prophecy and I will." Harry said quietly. "I haven't forgotten anything. But I've been stuck at Hogwarts. I need time."

"You're here now," Voldemort said. "How is it you can find ways to come to see me and not go to collect the Prophecy?"

"I can't go to the Ministry when I'm supposed to be in Hogwarts." Harry pointed out.

Voldemort didn't say anything for a moment and studied Harry. He suddenly moved away, heading back to his seat.

"Two weeks," he said loudly. "You have a two weeks break from Hogwarts. In those two weeks you will get me the Prophecy otherwise the deal is off. I will destroy the compass so you will never be able to go back and as for the Prophecy," his eyes glittered like jewels. "I will make other arrangements to get to it."

Harry clenched his fists tightly to remain in control of his rage.

"Fine," he bit out. "I'll get you the Prophecy and in those two weeks." Harry stepped closer to the Voldemort. "But you will not have anyone else attacked." His eyes darkened a few shades, despite his attempts. "I know how you found out about me. If you go to my world and attack anyone or if you repeat what happened to Weasley tonight, I'll smash that damn Prophecy, regardless of what you do to the compass."

Voldemort's face twisted in anger and Harry could see the strain on him to hold back from cursing him. With great effort, Voldemort remained seated and a cruel smile came to his lips.

"Your disrespectful tongue is beginning to agitate me. Be careful or I may have it removed." He warned.

Harry smiled in response.

"You want to guess how many times I heard that while growing up?"

"I'll carry it out." Voldemort said.

"You'll try." Harry corrected, before walking towards the door and out of the chamber, stepping over the still unconscious Death Eaters.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please let me know what you thought!! I know there's not much action but I have a couple of pretty big fights coming up soon, so look out for them!!


	31. Gratitude

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

I'm so sorry for the very late review. There was a sickness bug going around and both my kids got it, so one week was spent with them being violently sick! Then when they recovered, I got it!! Anyway, all better now so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty One**

_**AU World **_

Hurried footsteps could be heard several moments before the door slammed open, making both Harry and Damien look up. Lily ran inside the hospital wing, followed by James and Professor McGonagall. Worry and concern could be seen in every inch of Lily's face as she hurried over to the bed and threw her arms around the pale faced boy.

"Are you okay? Oh, Merlin! What happened to you?" she asked, hugging Harry fiercely.

Damien got up from the side of the bed and moved away to stand next to Madame Pomfrey and Ron, so James could sit next to Harry.

"Professor McGonagall just informed us you collapsed in class." James said, his eyes racing over Harry's pale and trembling form, taking in his ill state. "How did this happen?"

Harry looked over at his Head of House standing near the door. The stern looking witch picked up on his hesitance and turned to leave.

"I will be in my office, if you need me." She said to James and Lily before exiting, closing the door gently behind her.

As soon as she left, Harry turned his worry filled eyes to his parents. He quickly told them about falling asleep in class and the vision he had of Arthur Weasley being attacked by a giant serpent.

James and Lily didn't say anything but visibly paled at Harry's words. Clearing his throat, James asked in a quiet tone.

"You're certain this wasn't a…a dream?"

Harry looked at James angrily.

"I already told you, I wasn't dreaming! It was real, I could feel it."

James stopped himself from arguing the point. Harry certainly looked like he believed the dream was real. James turned to look at Poppy, noticing how worried Ron looked beside her.

"Poppy?" James asked.

The school nurse gave Harry a long look before speaking.

"There isn't anything I can do to determine if Harry was dreaming or if what he saw was in fact a vision." She stopped here to take in a breath before forcing the next sentence. "But tests have shown that he has experienced pain in his scar recently."

Lily's grip on Harry's hand tightened. James was looking at Poppy with wide eyes. Next to Ron, Damien shifted from one foot to the other. He wasn't looking forward to telling them of his brother's theory of what it meant every time Harry's scar hurt.

"Again? What…why does this keep on happening?" Lily asked.

"I really don't know. Like I said before, not a lot is known about curse scars." Poppy replied apologetically.

"It doesn't matter." Harry interrupted. "What matters right now is that Mr Weasley gets help."

James looked at Ron, taking in how pale the boy looked.

"I'll contact the Ministry, see if I can find out where Arthur is." James said.

"Dad's fine." Ron said. "I've already contacted him, he's fine."

"When Damien brought Harry in, he kept on saying Arthur was hurt and needed urgent help." Poppy explained. "Ron made a floo call to Arthur's office and spoke to him, to reassure Harry that everything was fine." She looked over at Harry before continuing. "But Harry was still adamant that Arthur was in need of help. He wouldn't let me examine him until he could, could speak with Harry."

James looked around at Harry in surprise.

"You think what you saw happen to Arthur, was in your world?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head, feeling too sick to talk.

"What did Harry say?" Lily asked quietly.

"He asked me what I saw and I told him all I could. He said he knew where Mr Weasley was and hung up on me." Harry managed to say.

James ran a hand through his hair, clearly worried now.

"Has he called back yet?" he asked.

Harry shook his head.

The adults shared an anxious look.

"I'm certain Arthur is fine." Lily said finally. "I know you think otherwise, but I'm certain you had a nightmare. I can't see how you would possibly be able to know what is happening in another universe. It's not feasible." Lily tried to assure Harry.

"You don't understand, I wasn't dreaming!" Harry said again; thoroughly tired from stressing this point.

"You said you fell asleep in class, how can you be sure you weren't dreaming?" Lily asked.

"Because it was me!" Harry erupted. "I was the one who attacked him! I was the snake!"

Lily looked horrified at the boy before her. James had tensed up at once.

"I saw everything from the snake's point of view. I could, could feel it when I…I bit him…" Harry stopped himself as he felt bile rise in his throat again at the recollection of the vision. "It wasn't a dream. I felt it, all of it. You have to believe me." he added desperately.

Lily squeezed his hand and nodded her head.

"I believe you." She whispered to him.

Harry looked over at his dad and saw James nod his head too. He looked a lot more worried now.

"We just have to wait for Harry to call to see…" James was cut off as Harry gave a small jump of surprise. He reached into his robes and pulled out the phone which had lit up and was vibrating.

With trembling fingers, Harry pushed the green button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Harry?"

"You were right," came his counterpart's voice. "I found him, bleeding badly and unconscious."

Harry felt his heart leap uncomfortably.

"Is he…?" he started in a shaky voice.

"He's alive. He must be at St Mungos by now." Harry answered.

Harry let out a deep breath of relief. Mr Weasley was found in time, he was going to be okay. He looked up to see the rest staring at him anxiously.

"Mr Weasley was found by Harry. He's been taken to St Mungos." Harry told them.

Ron sat down on the chair behind him, looking like he could be sick. James and Lily looked both relieved and concerned.

"How did you know where to find him?" Harry asked his other self.

"I know the Ministry of Magic inside out." came the reply. "I recognised it from your description."

"Where are you now?" Harry asked, wondering if Harry was with the injured Mr Weasley.

"On my way back to Hogwarts." Harry replied. "I'll call you once I find out how he's recovering."

"Okay, thanks" Harry replied.

His counterpart didn't say anymore and disconnected the call. Harry brought the phone down from his ear and let it rest in his lap.

"Harry said he'd call once he finds out more about how Mr Weasley is doing." He relayed back to the rest.

James opened his mouth to ask a question but seemed to change his mind.

"Now that you know Arthur is going to be okay, will you take this and rest?" Poppy said in her usual stern way, holding out a vial.

Harry took the Dreamless Sleeping potion from her and held it in his hands. He had refused to take the sleeping potion until he heard back from Harry, to make sure Mr Weasley was rescued. Now he felt he could relax.

"I'm sorry, I had to know if he was okay." Harry explained.

"Thank goodness Harry found Arthur. I don't want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't." Lily said fretfully.

James looked intently at Harry, his eyes lingering on Harry's forehead.

"How is that possible?" he questioned. "How could you see what was happening?"

Harry shrugged tiredly.

"I don't know, it's never happened to me before." Harry replied.

"Is this the first time you've experienced a vision?" Poppy asked.

Harry thought about it. He had had dreams last year of Barty Crouch junior talking with Voldemort, but he didn't know if that could be termed as a vision or not.

"I don't know, I think so." He replied.

"I'm more interested in why his scar was hurting than these visions." Lily said in a quiet voice.

"I know, it is worrisome, but like I said, there's not much we can do to investigate it." Poppy said, brushing back Harry's bangs to check the red and sore looking scar.

Harry shook his hair back into place, hiding the scar again.

"It's fine, it doesn't happen often." He said.

"Yes, but it shouldn't hurt at all. I know that when Harry's scar used to hurt it was when Voldemort was feeling particularly happy or angry. Or it was when Voldemort was physically near him. But this isn't the case anymore so why is your scar hurting?" James asked, more himself than the others.

Damien took a deep breath. This was it, he had to tell them all what Harry had told him.

"Um…" everyone's attention shifted to him. "I have to tell you something." Damien started.

James narrowed his eyes at Damien.

"Am I going to like this?" he asked.

"No, you're going to hate it." Damien replied. He took a step nearer to the bed, keeping his eyes on Harry. "I was talking with Harry on the phone and I told him that sometimes your scar hurts." He nodded at Harry sitting on the bed. "I told him of the day you collapsed because of the pain and…and Harry sort of has this…this theory." Damien took in a deep breath. "Harry thinks that when your scar hurts to the point that you collapse, it's because…because Voldemort is here."

No sooner had the words left him that the room's temperature seemed to plummet down a few notches. Harry sat up straighter in his bed, eyes wide and fixed on Damien. Poppy was gaping at Damien too as was a wide eyed Ron. Damien didn't dare look at his parents; he didn't want to see their terrified expressions.

"That's not possible." Poppy whispered.

"Harry thinks that the Voldemort of that other world has the co ordinates to this world and is using the compass to travel here and back." Damien explained. "Harry said to take the scar hurting as a sign that Voldemort may be here. He wanted us to stay in Hogwarts, to stay safe."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Harry asked, looking very annoyed.

Damien looked awkwardly at his parents.

"I didn't want to say anything because I knew it would freak everyone out." Damien explained.

"I think we're allowed to freak out over something like this." Ron commented.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you, because hopefully it would never happen again." Damien said, ignoring Ron.

"You should have at least told me, Damien." Harry said.

Damien looked down, ashamed.

"I just didn't want…it's not the best of news. I wanted to avoid it as long as I could." He explained.

"How did Harry come to this conclusion?" James asked quietly, anger clearly noticeable in his tone.

Damien opened his mouth to answer only to realise that he didn't have any.

"I…I don't know." he said.

"It is a bit of a jump. I mean, why would Vol- _he_ even come here? He doesn't know about the swap. What purpose would he serve travelling here?" Poppy asked nervously.

James looked at Damien intently and the fifteen year old could see the familiar shadow of suspicion appear in his eyes. James stood up from Harry's bed and walked over to Damien, standing before him.

"Damien, do you know why Harry thinks Voldemort would be coming here?"

Damien shook his head.

"I swear dad, I don't. I wouldn't lie to you, I mean not about something like this!" he wanted his dad to know he wasn't lying this time.

James was still staring at Damien, trying to read his eyes.

"How does Harry know this then?" he asked.

"I don't know. He never explained his theory." Damien replied. Then remembering an important detail, he added. "Harry said that the compass belonged to Voldemort and he said that he would try to track it down, if the one we have continued to fail to work." Seeing the alarmed look on his dad's face, he quickly continued. "He tried to get it but didn't succeed, that world's Lucius Malfoy took it before Harry could."

James looked stunned. Behind him, Lily too was looking shocked.

"Lucius Malfoy?" James questioned. "Harry's met that world's Lucius Malfoy?"

"Um, yeah." Damien answered carefully.

James' look changed to one of fury. He took a step nearer to Damien, almost towering over him.

"Damien, don't lie to me. Tell me truthfully; has Harry met that world's Voldemort?" he asked, almost spitting with anger.

Damien shook his head quickly, not liking the way his father looked at all.

"No, dad. He's not gone anywhere near him." Damien replied. Seeing that James didn't look any calmer, he added. "Harry would have told me if he had. He wouldn't keep something like this from me. He hasn't met that world's Voldemort, I swear!"

James took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. Damien could see how badly his dad's hands were shaking.

"I'm going to call him, I have to talk to him." James said, walking over to the bed so he could take the phone from Harry.

"Maybe it would be better to wait." Harry said quietly.

James looked at him.

"Why?"

"He said he was making his way back to Hogwarts. He's probably there by now. It's still the middle of the night; he might not be able to talk to you. He's going to call me soon to tell me how Mr Weasley is doing so you can talk to him then." Harry explained. "And I think maybe you should be…calmer when you talk to him." he added.

James gave Harry a surprised look and opened his mouth obviously to defend himself when he noticed how dry his mouth had become and how badly his hands were shaking. Harry was right; he should take the time to calm down before he spoke to his son and questioned him about Voldemort.

With a nod, he backed away and sat down on the bed. The next few moments were of awkward silence before Poppy resumed her role of the strict nurse.

"Right, enough of this chit-chat. Harry, take your potion and get some well needed rest. James, Lily, you can come back to see him in a few hours but he really needs to sleep. Ronald, you can accompany me in my office so we can complete the paperwork." She turned to go and saw Damien. "Mr Potter, don't you have classes to attend?" she said.

Damien nodded and quickly turned to leave, taking a last glimpse at Harry who had taken the vial of sleeping potion and was now sliding down to lie flat on his back. Damien walked out of the wing, avoiding looking at his parents who looked distraught at the possibility of their worst enemy coming back to their world.

xxx

Damien was sitting next to the lake, watching as large blocks of ice floated across the surface of the lake. His breath misted in front of him and he had to resist the temptation to go back inside the warm castle. He was going to go back inside soon. He had to visit Harry and deal with his annoyance at not being told sooner about the link between his scar hurting and Voldemort's supposed visits. He shuddered at the thought.

His parents were worried. More than that, they were outright petrified at the prospect that Voldemort could come to this world. Damien could understand perfectly why. The problem was, his parents had another worry, the fear that their son Harry was currently trapped in a world that had a Voldemort and one that possibly knew about Harry's true origins. It was obvious that Voldemort knew, why else would he come here?

Damien rubbed his gloved hands together and fixed his Gryffindor coloured scarf around his neck, in an attempt to retain some heat. He wasn't sure if it was just late January weather that was freezing his insides or the thoughts of Voldemort. He wrapped his arms around himself and sat staring at the lake.

He heard footsteps behind him but didn't react to them. A figure sat down next to him and only then did Damien look around.

"Thought you might need this." the blond haired boy said, handing him a glass bottle.

Damien took the offered drink and smiled.

"Thanks Draco."

The graduated Slytherin student nodded his head and put his own identical bottle to his lips and took a great gulp.

"This stuff's great to warm you up." He said.

Damien undid the cap and put the bottle to his own lips. A small sip and it felt like he had swallowed fire. It wasn't the best of tastes.

"You can say that again." He spluttered.

Draco smirked at the look Damien was giving the bottle.

"It grows on you." He said.

"Are you mad at me too for not telling you sooner?" Damien asked.

Draco took a moment to answer.

"No, because you didn't have to tell me at all." He answered.

"Harry wanted to you to know." Damien explained.

"Harry's overprotective." Draco said.

"That's not a bad thing." Damien said picking up on the other boy's tone.

"No, but it's not necessarily a good thing either." Draco argued.

Damien opened his mouth to answer but then changed his mind.

"Why are you here?" he asked instead.

"You said yourself, Harry wanted us to stay safe whenever there was a possibility _he_ may be here." He smirked at Damien. "You can't get any safer than Hogwarts, right?"

Damien didn't say anything but looked down. A few moments passed before either boy spoke.

"How are your mum and dad now? Any progress?" Damien asked.

"Actually yeah. The Healers are confident that they may be able to draw them out of their coma. Don't know when it will happen but the treatments are still going on, so it's just a matter of wait and see." Draco answered.

Damien nodded his head.

"At least there's some good news." He commented.

"Well, I need to go and see the Headmaster, let him know I'm on school property before he takes a fit." Draco said, standing up.

Damien smiled and stood up.

"I'll walk you up." He offered.

Draco gave the boy a look.

"It's only been seven months since I left school. I remember the way." He said.

"I know, but I have to go in anyway so, I'll walk you up." Damien said.

"Alright, suit yourself." Draco said, following the younger boy up the steps and into the castle.

---

_**Canon World**_

Harry had just apparated back to his dorm room when he heard the door open. He quickly threw himself behind the bed drapes and landed in his bed. Hastily he threw his bedcovers over himself. He lifted the Silencio spell he had over his bed with a whisper and heard quick footsteps hurrying inside. The sound of the steps seemed to indicate that whoever had come inside was making its way over to Harry's bed. Harry closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. But no one approached Harry's bed. It was the bed next to his that had its drapes pulled open.

"Mr Weasley. Mr Weasley."

Even if it was a whisper, Harry instantly recognised his Head of House's voice. Professor McGonagall continued to call out Ron's name, an effort to wake him.

Ron grunted in his sleep a few times before he woke up. Harry listened as Ron groggily asked his Professor what was wrong.

"Come with me, Mr Weasley. At once." Was the reply he got.

Harry listened as Ron's footsteps joined the Professor's and they left the room. Harry turned to his side, feeling an uncomfortable weight come down on his heart. He knew why McGonagall had taken Ron away in the middle of the night. He knew exactly what news he would be given in her office. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. He knew Ron wouldn't be able to take the news well.

xxx

By the time Harry woke up the next morning, all of Ron's things were gone. Harry got dressed and made his way downstairs, feeling restless and agitated. He wanted to know if Ron's dad had survived the attack. He found himself wondering how Ginny would react if something happened to her dad. She would be inconsolable.

Shaking his head, Harry entered the Great Hall and walked over to join Hermione at the Gryffindor table. As soon as he sat down, Hermione started whispering furiously at him.

"Harry, have you seen Ron?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, he was gone when I woke up this morning."

Hermione bit her lip in worry.

"Ginny is missing too, and Fred and George are nowhere to be seen either." She glanced up at the staff table before looking back. "One of Ginny's roommates said she woke up last night to find Professor McGonagall in their room. She had woken Ginny up and escorted her out of the dorm."

Harry's mask of indifference drifted into place and he reached over to start piling food onto his plate.

"Maybe Ginny did something. She might be doing detention." Harry said.

Hermione made a face at him.

"In the middle of the night?!" she asked annoyed.

Harry shrugged.

"I don't know, Hermione. McGonagall is a weird creature, she can do anything." Harry said.

Hermione chewed on her lip, her brows knitted in worry.

"No, something big must have happened. That is why Fred, George, Ron and Ginny all have disappeared." She looked at Harry, her brown eyes filled with concern. "I hope it's not anything to do with their family. I hope everyone is okay."

"Me too." Harry whispered before he could stop himself.

xxx

The day went by and Hermione grew more and more suspicious of the Weasley children's disappearance. She wasn't the only one. Harry caught the last part of a heated argument between Professor McGonagall and the ever so annoying Professor Umbridge. They two Professors were standing just outside the Transfiguration classroom and were so caught up in their argument, they ignored the crowd of students gathered nearby.

"I have already told you, Dolores, the matter is confidential." McGonagall said.

"You may have forgotten, Minerva, but I am the Head Inquisitor and I have every right to know the whereabouts of every single student here. And this matter involves four students…"

"All of whom were permitted permission to start their Christmas break early by the Headmaster himself." McGonagall cut across Umbridge.

The toad like witch was fast turning a shade of her favourite colour; pink.

"The Headmaster cannot show favouritism between students. The end of term is for all students and it doesn't start until tomorrow." Umbridge said angrily.

"Well, then, I suggest you take the matter up with the Headmaster himself." McGonagall said, her lips pressed tightly into a thin line.

Umbridge did no more than glare at her before stalking off, leaving a smirking McGonagall behind.

xxx

By the end of the day, Harry was contemplating apparating to St Mungos to see what was happening with Arthur Weasley. He still hadn't told Hermione anything about what had happened last night. He could see how worried she was and he felt bad for her but for an unknown reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell her anything.

Harry decided against going to St Mungos. He could disguise himself and go to check on Arthur but he couldn't risk getting caught. His disappearance from Hogwarts could be picked up on. As it was the last day of term, Harry reasoned he could ask about Arthur tomorrow when he was finished with Hogwarts.

It was just as he had lay down in bed that his phone went off, vibrating in his robes pocket.

He flicked his wand, muttering the Silencio spell around his bed before pulling the drapes around him. He answered his phone, expecting his counterpart to be on the other end, asking about Arthur. He was initially surprised to find that it was his dad.

"Are you okay?" his dad asked.

"I'm fine." Harry answered automatically.

"How is Arthur? Have you seen him?" James asked.

"No, I've been at Hogwarts, pretending I don't know what's happened to him. I'll be able to find out about him tomorrow." Harry answered.

A small pause before James spoke.

"Damien told us about your…theory as to why Harry's scar hurts."

Harry stayed silent.

"Is this just a theory or…?" James trailed off.

"Or what?" Harry prompted.

"Harry, what makes you think Voldemort is visiting our world?" James asked outright.

Harry thought about this carefully. How could he answer that without telling his dad everything?

"The attack on Lucius and Narcissa was carried out by him. I know it was him." he said.

James paused again.

"Is that all?" he asked. "Is the attack on Lucius and Narcissa, the only evidence you used to come up with this theory?" James asked.

"I have other reasons too." Harry answered uncomfortably.

"Harry, I have to ask and I want an honest answer from you." James started, his voice shaking slightly. "Have you been in any contact whatsoever with the Voldemort there?"

Harry paused in his answer. Should he lie to his dad? Would telling him an outright lie save him from unnecessary worry and concern? What good would come from telling him the truth? It would only cause his dad to panic.

"No, dad. I've not had any contact with him." Harry said, the words rolling easily off his tongue.

Harry could hear his dad's sigh of relief.

"For a moment there, I was sure…oh, I'm just glad I was wrong. Sorry, Harry, I doubted you. I know you're smarter than that. I know you wouldn't go near Voldemort, not again." James said, sounding a lot happier.

"Yeah," Harry said uncomfortably. "Not again."

xxx

The next day was the start of their Christmas holiday. Harry packed up what things he had, grabbed the cage with Hedwig inside and headed out to the Great Hall. He had no idea of where he was supposed to go. He was invited to spend the holidays at the Burrow but now that the incident with Arthur had happened, he wasn't sure if that was the best idea. He could go back to Privet drive but as much as ruining Christmas for the Dursleys sounded appealing, Harry wasn't in the mood.

He had just entered the main hallway when he heard his name being called.

"Mr Potter!"

Harry turned to find the owner of the voice and found Professor McGonagall standing near the staircase. Harry made his way over to her.

"Follow me, Mr Potter." she instructed before turning around and walking up the staircase.

Feeling slightly apprehensive, Harry followed her. To his relief, they didn't go to the Headmaster's office but the Transfiguration teacher led him to her own office. She closed the door after him and walked over to her desk. She pulled open the drawer and took out a small hair pin.

Harry was looking at her with confusion.

"Um, Professor? I know my hair is messy but I'm not going to pin it." he said.

Professor McGonagall looked over at him with a stern glare.

"I warned you not to be smart, Mr Potter." she reminded him.

"A strange requirement that, coming from my Professor." Harry replied.

The corners of McGonagall's lips twitched but she resisted the urge to smile. She wordlessly handed him the pin.

"It is a portkey. It will go off in thirty seconds." She said.

"Where am I going?" Harry asked.

"The Headquarters." McGonagall answered.

Harry flicked open Hedwig's cage and let the snowy owl fly out.

"I'll meet you at the Headquarters." He told the bird.

Hedwig gave him an appreciative hoot before gliding out of the open window. Harry closed the door on her cage and looked over to see the Professor staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Birds don't like portkeys." Harry explained.

"And you would know this, how?" she asked.

"People hardly like portkeys. Can you imagine what birds feel about them?"

McGonagall's reply was not heard by Harry as the portkey came to life and with a tug just below his navel, Harry felt his feet leave the ground and he was spinning in a whirlpool of colours.

He arrived soon and just narrowly avoided falling over on the moth eaten rug.

"Ruddy portkeys!" Harry muttered as he straightened himself up and noticed he had arrived in the hallway of number 12 Grimmauld Place.

As quietly as he could, so he wouldn't wake up the portrait of Sirius' mother, Harry made his way into the living room. He dropped his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the floor and set off to find where his godfather was. He walked out of the living room and made his way over to the kitchen. He opened the door to find Sirius sitting at the table talking with five red headed individuals sitting around the table. They all looked up as Harry opened the door.

Harry noted at once how red eyed Mrs Weasley was. Ron looked like he had been sick, his face pale with a miserable expression. Fred and George looked tired and somewhat defeated. Ginny looked small and fragile, sitting curled up on the chair, her knees drawn to her chest.

Harry walked inside, closing the door behind him.

"Hi" he said quietly.

Sirius got up at once and was at Harry's side.

"Hey, I didn't realise you had arrived. I was expecting to hear my mother's crude welcoming yells." He smiled.

"I remembered to be quiet." Harry explained. He looked over at the rest, feeling his heart speed up at how broken they all looked. "What happened?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius looked over at Molly before guiding Harry to a seat.

"Sit down, Harry."

Harry obliged and took a seat next to Fred. He looked over at Ron to see him looking at him without a hint of his usual smile.

"Everyone was going mad looking for you lot." Harry told him, playing along with the illusion that he had no idea what had happened to their father. "None of the staff would tell us where you were."

Molly smiled at Harry, a very forced and tight smile.

"It was better no one knew, dear. It wouldn't do anyone any good." She said. Looking down at her hands she continued. "I'm afraid the situation was such that we had little choice." She looked over at her kids before she continued. "Arthur…was hurt badly while on duty. He's in hospital."

Harry waited a moment before he asked,

"Is he okay?"

Molly nodded.

"He's recovering. He's…he's lost a lot of blood and there seems to be some, problems in healing the…the wounds but the Healers are trying their best." She answered.

Harry felt a strange sense of relief. Arthur was going to survive; he was going to be fine. He never anticipated that he would care so much. His eyes travelled to Ginny and he wondered if she was the reason he felt Arthur should live. He suddenly realised that everyone was staring at him. He quickly looked away from Ginny.

"I'm sorry, to hear about Mr Weasley." Harry said, realising he had to say something along these lines.

"It's okay, dear." Mrs Weasley smiled at him. "We were initially planning on going back to the Burrow but I was just saying to Sirius that perhaps we could stay here for Christmas. It's so much nearer to St Mungos and it would really be easier for me to…"

"That's a good idea." Harry cut across. He looked over at Sirius. "What do you think, Sirius?"

His Godfather smiled at him.

"I say, the more the bloody merrier!"

Harry looked over at Ron to see that he still looked miserable, as did the other Weasley children.

"Right, well, I best be going." Molly said, getting up from her seat.

"We're coming too!" Fred and George said shooting up from their seats.

Ron and Ginny stood up to join their brothers.

Molly sighed and rubbed at her head.

"I told you, the Healers have asked that only one person comes to visit Arthur. Your father is in no state to see you right now."

"We have to see him!" George yelled.

"And you will, just not right now." their mother returned.

"We haven't seen him at all. The Healers should understand, he's our father, we need to see him." Ginny said, close to tears.

"Ginny, sweetheart, the Healers are only saying this to help your father. In a few days he will be able to see all of you." Mrs Weasley said gently.

No one put up anymore fights and Mrs Weasley took the opportunity to grab her coat and walk out of the kitchen, heading to the hospital to see her husband.

xxx

By the next evening, the atmosphere in Grimmauld place had become even tenser. The four Weasley kids were growing more and more impatient to see their father and continued to sulk at the fact that they couldn't. In an effort to get Ron to stop worrying so much, Harry managed to get him involved in a game of chess.

Both boys were playing the game quietly, sitting in the living room. Ginny was in the kitchen with her mum, helping clear up the dinner dishes.

They were still in the middle of the game when the door opened and Fred and George came inside.

"Kingsley is here, he's talking to Sirius about dad." George said.

"What?" Ron said, getting up at once. "How do you know that?"

Just then the door opened and Ginny appeared.

"Mum's just gone in to talk with Sirius and Kingsley." She said.

"Come on!" Fred said urgently. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out several long flesh coloured strings. He handed one to each of them. "We have to know more about how dad got attacked. This is our chance."

Harry took the extendable ears and pushed down the memory of when he had last used them and what that had resulted in.

The five of them hurried to the parlour and slipped the ends of the strings under the door.

"No impenetrable charm this time." Fred said. "Just goes to show how worried mum is."

Each of them slipped their end of the extendable ear into their own ear and listened in to the conversation.

"It defies all logic." Kingsley was saying. "How could such a creature get into the Ministry without detection?"

"Seems like the Ministry isn't as secure as it claims to be." Sirius answered.

"The Healers have confirmed the fangs of the serpent had venom in them. That is why the wounds are not healing properly." Molly said quietly.

"How is Fudge dealing with the fact a venomous serpent came into the heart of the Ministry and attacked someone?" Sirius asked

"He's not, he's trying to keep it quiet." Kingsley answered.

"Arthur really is lucky he was found in time. Otherwise, he might not have…" Molly trailed off, unable to finish.

"Arthur is also very lucky he wasn't found _there_, he would have suffered the same fate as Sturgis." Sirius said quietly.

Harry looked over at the confused looking Weasleys.

"Sturgis? That's that Auror who was sent to Azkaban for trying to break into a forbidden department." George whispered.

"What was dad doing there?" Ginny asked.

"Shh!" Ron hushed at them.

They went back to eavesdropping.

"Still no closer to finding out how Arthur got away from there?" Sirius was asking.

"No, seeing his condition, I don't think it's possible he made it himself from the Department of Mysteries to the main corridor. And even if he had, there would have been a very noticeable trail left behind him." Molly sounded near to tears.

"So do we think Arthur was moved away from the Department of Mysteries by the same person that sent that Patronus?" Sirius asked sounding mildly amused.

Harry felt his heart rate pick up. Listening in to this conversation was a very bad idea.

"That's the assumption." Kingsley answered.

"I'm forever grateful to whoever this person is. Not only did he save my husband's life, he saved his future too. Otherwise, should Arthur have been found by a non Order member, he would have been sent to Azkaban." There was a definite shudder in Molly's voice.

Harry glanced over at the expressions of the other four. They were engrossed in the conversation.

"But that's just the thing, Molly. Who is this person? And why did he move Arthur instead of taking him to hospital? He couldn't have been an Order member because there is no one presently in the Order who has a serpent as a Patronus." Sirius said.

"Not just a serpent, Sirius, it was an _enormous_ serpent. When I saw it gliding into my office I didn't realise it was a Patronus. All I saw was a very formidable looking creature; I was petrified at the sight of it." Kingsley said heavily.

Harry's eyes locked with Ron's and saw that he was staring at him with his mouth open. Harry knew Ron had remembered the conversation they were having on the way to their last DA lesson, only a few days ago.

"_Like the Patronus charm?" Ron asked._

"_No, I don't think so." Harry said._

"_Why?" Ron asked._

"_Seeing as my Patronus is a very big, fearsome serpent, I don't think it's a good idea."_

Harry looked away, not able to hold Ron's gaze as the boy continued to stare at him.

"Moody is convinced we have an ally, a powerful one at that but it's damn frustrating that he's hiding." Kingsley continued.

"What was Moody like when he saw the Patronus?" Sirius asked.

"Let's just say, I took it better than him." Kingsley answered.

xxx

The five teens only pulled away from eavesdropping when they heard Mrs Weasley approaching the door. They pulled the extendable ears out from under the door and ran back into the living room. Mrs Weasley walked into the room and told them they had to get ready for bed.

Ron motioned for Harry to follow him and quickly darted from the room. Harry followed him upstairs and into the room they were sharing. As soon as the door closed, Ron turned to face Harry, his eyes impossibly wide.

"It was you," he started breathlessly. "You saved my dad."

"Ron, keep your voice down." Harry urged, even though Ron wasn't talking that loud.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ron asked.

"I…I just thought it was better if you didn't know it was me." Harry answered honestly.

"How did you know?" Ron asked. "How did you know my dad needed help?"

"I didn't," Harry said heavily. "I got a call from Harry. He had a vision of your dad being attacked. He described the place he saw your dad and I knew it must be the Ministry. I got there in time and…and well, you heard the rest."

Ron looked like he didn't know what to say or do. He opened his mouth a few times but no sound came out. Suddenly he moved towards him and hugged him, surprising Harry.

"Thank you, Harry. Thank you so much!" he gushed.

Harry, never comfortable with hugs, pulled Ron away from himself.

"It's fine, really." He said awkwardly.

"You could have been caught. You took a risk and you took it to save my dad." Ron looked at Harry with clear gratitude. "I can't tell you what…it's…he's my dad, you know? If anything had happened to him, I…I wouldn't know what to do."

Harry nodded his head, not knowing what to say.

"Thank you, Harry." Ron said again.

"You can stop saying that now." Harry said.

Ron smiled awkwardly at him.

"Okay" after a moment he looked at Harry. "Do you suppose I could, you know, talk with Harry?"

Harry pulled out the phone and handed him it.

"Be careful, don't get caught with it." Harry warned.

"I won't." Ron said, slipping the phone into his pocket and moving towards the door.

"Ron," Harry called out. "You know not to say anything to anyone about this, right?"

"Of course," Ron answered. "I can tell Hermione though?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah, okay but no one else."

"I'm not stupid," Ron answered. "If I tell them about you being the one who saved dad, I would have to explain why the hell your Patronus changed from a stag to a serpent."

Harry smiled a little.

"A stag, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, a big proud one." Ron answered.

"Of course he is." Harry said, smiling deeply, thinking about his dad.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review if you can! The next update will probably be next year (boy, that sounds weird!) Have a very Merry Christmas and a Great New Year!!!


	32. Harsh Discoveries

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Thanks for your reviews!! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty Two**

_**AU World**_

The windows of the castle rattled as the fierce wind pounded against them. Storms of icy sleet battled against the glass, trying to cover it completely and hide the view of the world from within. Harry watched the storm quietly, his eyes fixed on the window before him. He felt like a much fiercer storm was battling inside of him. He could almost feel his insides turn to ice every time the thought of the danger that he was causing his family.

_Voldemort_

He closed his eyes. Why could he not escape that name? From the moment he learned who he really was, he had that name attached to him. People saw him as the one who defeated _Voldemort_. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived; the boy who survived _Voldemort_. And most recently in his world, he was the one who lied about _Voldemort_.

Harry opened his eyes again. He was the reason Voldemort was travelling to this world. He was the one Voldemort was after. It was so clear now to Harry; Voldemort would never leave him alone. He had been naïve to believe, even for a second that going to another dimension would keep him away from Voldemort.

Harry felt the stirrings of that strange feeling again. That feeling that started in the pit of his stomach and travelled to the depth of his heart. The feeling of panic that made his heart almost break. What if Voldemort came here again and this time, he came for the Potters? What if he had attacked his parents instead of Draco's? What if he arrived and got to James and Lily? Or Sirius? Or Remus? Or what about Damien?

Not being able to take it anymore, Harry got to his feet and started pacing the length of the room. He couldn't let himself think like that. He wasn't going to let Voldemort get inside his head.

'_I'm already there!'_

A thought crossed his mind, mimicking the high cold voice of his enemy. How else could he have seen the attack on Mr Weasley? He had seen everything from the attacker's point of view. How was that possible if Voldemort wasn't somehow in his mind? Or perhaps, he was the one inside Voldemort's mind?

Harry shook his head, trying to clear away these thoughts. He was going to go insane if he kept thinking like this.

A knock on the door before it opened revealed Damien. Harry stopped in his pacing at the sight of him.

"Hey," Damien said coming further into the room. "I went to the infirmary but you weren't there. Just thought I would check on you." Awkwardly he asked, "How are you?"

Harry turned to fully face him.

"Going mad." He answered honestly.

Damien nodded.

"I figured as much."

Harry resumed his pacing, feeling like he would fall into an abyss if he didn't keep on moving. Damien walked further into Harry's room.

"Look, I know how this sounds but, everything will work itself out, eventually." Damien tried.

Harry halted in his pacing and turned to glare at the boy.

"Work itself out?" he asked. "How? How are things going to work out?"

Damien shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"I don't know. I just know they have to get better."

Harry shook his head.

"Things can only get worse." He said cynically. "I have to speak to Professor Dumbledore. There has to be another way."

Damien looked confusedly at him.

"Another way for what?" he asked.

Harry looked straight at Damien.

"Another way for me to go back."

Damien could see the desperation in Harry's eyes and he felt his own heart skip a few beats.

"Harry, look…"

"No, I know what you're going to say but I also know it's not true." Harry interrupted. "_I'm_ the reason he's coming here. I'm the one he followed to this dimension. If I'm not here anymore, he won't come here."

"You don't know that." Damien said weakly.

"Yes, I do." Harry returned. "I have to go. It's the only way to ensure your safety, mum and dad's safety, everyone's safety actually."

Damien gave Harry an odd look before shaking his head.

"It's true. Harry does have a saving people thing."

Harry looked lost.

"What?"

"Why do you _always_ assume it's _your_ job to save everyone?" Damien asked.

"I don't, but in this case, it is up to me." Harry replied.

"No, it's not." Damien argued. "Look, there is no way Voldemort could have followed you here. He found out about the swap months after it happened. He came here but he never came near us, he went to the man he thought still served him. He attacked Lucius Malfoy."

"What if next time it's one of us?" Harry asked. "What if he attacks Sirius or Remus? Or mum and dad?" he shook his head angrily. "I can't let that happen, not because of me, not again."

Damien put a hand on the distressed boy's shoulder.

"It was never because of you. Give blame to the one who deserves it. It was all Voldemort, never you." He said. He dropped his hand away from Harry and gave him a look. "I'll talk to Hermione, see how far along she has come with the compass."

Harry nodded at him, thanking him mentally. Damien left after that, leaving Harry to his depressed thoughts.

xxx

That evening there was another knock on Harry's door but this time it was his dad that appeared in the doorway.

"You missed dinner." he explained walking in with a plate full of food.

Harry smiled but shook his head.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

James placed the plate onto the coffee table.

"Your mum said to call her if you said that." James warned.

A small laugh escaped Harry. He was really going to miss her something fierce. He sat down and started on his dinner, trying to eat but his appetite was just not there.

"I spoke with Harry." James said suddenly.

Harry looked up anxiously.

"It seems Harry is only guessing that Voldemort is able travel to this world. He thinks the attack on the Malfoys was his doing."

Harry swallowed the small mouthful.

"You don't believe him?" he asked, picking up on James' tone.

"It's not that I don't believe him. I would never underrate Harry, not even his guesses, when it comes to Voldemort. He knows him more than anyone." Harry could almost feel the bitter resentment in James' words. "I just think it's a bit of a jump, but regardless, I think it won't hurt if we're all on our guard."

Harry nodded.

"Did you speak with Professor Dumbledore?" he asked heavily.

"Yes, he thinks the same as Harry. He wouldn't put it past someone like Voldemort to be able to work out how to come here." James answered.

Harry felt the next words stick in his throat but he forced them out.

"Does he know if there is any other way to travel to other dimensions without the compass?"

"Possibly, there are trickier and potentially more dangerous ways to travel to other dimensions. Trust Voldemort to find one." James answered, mistakenly thinking Harry was enquiring as to how Voldemort had travelled here.

"I meant does Professor Dumbledore know of a way _I_ can use to go back?" Harry asked.

James looked taken aback. He answered after a moment of silence.

"You want to go back?" he asked.

Harry pushed the food on his plate from one corner to the other.

"No, but I have to, someday."

"The only safe way to travel is using the compass." James answered. "It'll still be awhile before that's fixed."

Harry didn't look up at James when he next spoke.

"He's coming here because of me. If I'm not here, he won't come here." He said quietly.

"Why would you think that?" James asked.

Harry looked up at him with surprise, wondering if the question was asked sarcastically. It didn't look like it from James' expression.

"Why else would Voldemort come here?" Harry asked.

"Plenty of reasons," James answered. "It doesn't have to be because of you." Harry didn't respond, he didn't want to argue with his dad. "Harry, I know that this is very difficult to handle and it's frightening, I admit that it is, but taking the blame for Voldemort or thinking that going away will solve the problem isn't going to do you or any of us any good." James continued.

"What else am I supposed to think?" Harry asked, finally pushing past his resolve not to argue. "My scar hurts when he's here! I saw that attack on Mr Weasley! How can I not consider the possibility that I'm connected to this in some way?!"

"You had a vision, it's not uncommon." James tried to reassure him.

Harry shot to his feet.

"It wasn't a vision! I was the one attacking Mr Weasley!" he yelled.

James rose to his feet slowly, keeping his eyes on the boy before him.

"You were not the one to hurt Arthur. You saw the incident from the attacker's point of view, that's all."

Harry shook his head, furious at being convinced he was innocent when he knew he wasn't.

"I felt it, the anger, the rage, the satisfaction of hurting him, all of it! It was me, dad, I know it was!"

"You were in the Divination classroom at the time. Damien saw you there the whole time, as did the rest of the class and Sybil." James said.

"I know that, I'm not saying I physically did anything! But my mind was there, Voldemort was in my head, he must have been!" Harry tried desperately to explain but the words weren't coming out right.

James walked over to Harry and placed both hands on Harry's shoulders.

"Voldemort could never be in your head. He wouldn't be able to stand being inside a good person." he said seriously.

Harry looked at his dad, his emerald eyes fixed to his father's.

"What if I'm not all good? What if after all that has happened, something went wrong. What if after my blood was taken for his rebirth, something inside me changed so it means he can possess me? He couldn't touch me before but after he took my blood he could."

James felt his heart almost break at his words. He tightened his grip on Harry.

"You could never be possessed by Voldemort. All he knows is how to cause pain and suffering. But you, Harry, you know nothing about causing pain. You are a good person and never, by any ritual, could you be changed." said James.

Harry didn't say anything but his expression showed he was still doubtful.

"You learned a lot about the Harry of this world, didn't you?" James asked quietly.

Harry nodded, curious as to why James was mentioning his counterpart.

"Do you think Harry is anything like Voldemort?" James asked seriously.

Harry's eyes widened with surprise. He shook his head.

"No, not at all!" he said at once.

James smiled.

"If the Harry that was brought up by Voldemort, taught by him, skilled by him, didn't let Voldemort take over him, then how can the Voldemort of your world take over you?"

Harry let the words penetrate through him. His dad was right. Voldemort could never possess him, he could never control him. He had seen enough memories to know what this dimension's Voldemort ultimately wanted from his counterpart, but Harry refused to become that. Harry had stood by Voldemort's side and did what was asked of him, but he never allowed Voldemort to fully control him.

Harry felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Voldemort could kill him, but he couldn't break him.

He gave his dad a smile, his relief showing in every inch of his face. James smiled back at him.

"Come on, your mum is going to kill me if you don't finish your dinner."

Harry sat back down in front of his plate. James took out his wand and waved it over the plate, warming the food. Harry picked up his fork and started on his dinner, surprised when his appetite suddenly returned with vigour.

xxx

Damien glanced at his wristwatch, a present from Meno last Christmas, and looked back up into the busy street. He cursed under his breath. Where was she? He had been waiting almost forty minutes now.

Just as he glanced over to his far right, he saw her, running through the crowd of people. Her hair, as bushy as ever, flailing behind her. She caught sight of him too and she hurried over to him.

"What the hell, Hermione?" Damien moaned the moment she reached him.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Hermione puffed out of breath. "I just got caught up the last minute."

Damien turned and opened the door to the Three Broomsticks and led her in. He found a quiet table near the back and sat down with his friend.

"You look like you need a drink." He mused, watching Hermione fan her face with her hands.

"I ran like crazy!" she told him.

"You were still forty minutes late." Damien told her.

"Sorry, Damy." She gushed.

"Why did you run? You could have apparated here." Damien asked.

Hermione looked away and mumbled something.

"What?" Damien said.

"I said, I did apparate but in my hurry I got the co ordinates mixed up and I ended up on the other side of Hogsmeade. I tried again but I kept messing up so I gave up and started running here."

Damien blinked at her.

"_You_ messed up?" he asked.

"Yes, yes, I was distracted, okay." Hermione said defensively.

Damien smirked at her and shook his head.

"I tell you the world is ending."

Hermione gave him a 'not-funny' look and got up to get some drinks. She returned and placed a bottle in front of the younger boy.

"So, how have things been lately?" she asked.

"You mean other than how everyone is freaking out about _him_ coming here and attacking people?" Damien asked.

"Pretty much."

Damien shrugged.

"Okay, I guess." He looked up at Hermione and leaned forward towards her. "I wanted to ask you how the…um…_project_ was getting on?"

Hermione took a gulp of her drink before answering.

"Pretty good actually." She answered calmly.

Damien sat back.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really" she answered.

Damien frowned.

"You do know I'm talking about the compass, right?"

Hermione giggled.

"What was the point of saying it in codeword?"

Damien ignored the question.

"So, it's really going well? Have you worked it all out?"

Hermione took another sip before answering.

"Most of it is decrypted in a manner of speaking. We have about six more runes to work out. These are very exceptional runes and there is hardly any literature on them but I'm sure we'll figure them out soon."

"How soon?" Damien asked.

Hermione lowered her bottle and gave Damien a look.

"Why the sudden rush?" she enquired.

"Harry's freaking out. He thinks Vol-_he…_" he quickly corrected himself. He didn't want the occupants of the pub fleeing in terror at the thought of the Dark Lord returning. "…he is coming here because of him. Harry thinks if he goes back that will end the uninvited visits."

Hermione frowned.

"That's just silly." She remarked. "Harry has nothing to do with this. It's not his fault."

"I know, dad told Harry the same thing." Damien replied.

"And?" Hermione asked.

"And I think Harry believed him, but he's still very quiet and worried that _he'll_ come again and hurt someone."

Hermione smiled a little.

"We're all afraid of that." she admitted.

Damien nodded.

"Have you heard from, um, the other one?" she asked.

Damien shook his head.

"No, it's been a few days."

Hermione took in the depressed look on her friend's face.

"Don't worry. The project is nearly done. Once all the runes are worked out, we can try testing it. Whatever it is that is stopping the thing from working, we'll have it identified and fixed before long." She said confidently.

Damien gave her a small smile.

"Okay" he replied.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be happy the compass is nearly fixed." Hermione asked.

"I am, it's just…I kind of feel bad about sending him back to that place, with _him_ still there and after him. It seems…cruel." Damien admitted.

"He has to go back someday." Hermione said softly.

"I know," Damien said. "It's not like I want things to stay as they are. I'm terrified at the thought of my brother in the same place as _him_. I want Harry back but I don't want to lose a friend I've just grown fond of." He shook his head. "I just wish we could keep both."

"You could." Hermione said.

Damien looked up at her with surprise.

"Really?" he asked with a grin.

"Sure," Hermione said. "But only for a few weeks, you know, before the equilibrium shifts and the universe collapses."

Damien stared at her.

"You know, I preferred you when you didn't understand sarcasm." He said with a pout.

Hermione smiled and winked at him, before draining her bottle and setting it on the table.

---

_**Canon World**_

The streets were quiet and almost deserted. The sun had already set two hours ago, prompting the numerous streetlamps to spring to life and light up the snow covered streets. Two boys wandered down the pavement, trudging through the thick snow.

"You would think it would be colder," Ron said. "Seeing all the snow, but it's not."

Harry nodded, hands tucked into the pockets of his coat.

"Things seldom are as they seem."

Ron glanced towards the boy walking alongside him but didn't say anything. The boys walked past the muggle park whose only occupant was an elderly man walking his two dogs.

"How long do you reckon it will take before someone realises we're missing?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"They probably won't, they're busy with…other stuff."

"Like trying to find this mysterious ally with a serpent Patronus?" Ron asked with a sly look at Harry.

Harry smiled a little, despite his clear attempt to keep a straight face.

"Something like that."

Ron shook his head in amusement and continued walking.

"I'm not going to, but a part of me kind of wants to tell them it's you." Ron said. "Just to see their reaction."

Harry looked over at Ron and smirked.

"I can always beat that 'part' out of you." He offered.

"I think I'll just stick to repressing it." Ron replied.

Harry took a look at the boy and smiled.

"I told you taking a long walk would help you feel better." Harry said, pleased with himself.

Ron smiled gratefully back. He had gone earlier to see his dad in hospital and seeing his injured state had only further upset him. He came back to Grimmauld place, wishing he hadn't gone in the first place. He really needed a break from it all. He was glad he took up Harry's suggestion and came along on one of his walks.

They continued along in silence for a while before turning the corner and making their way back to Grimmauld place.

xxx

When they arrived back at the Headquarters, they were surprised to see a new visitor. Hermione was sitting with Ginny in the kitchen talking with her. Molly was at the stove, busy preparing dinner.

"Where have you two been?" Ginny asked as her brother and Harry walked in.

"We were upstairs." Ron said distractedly. His focus was on Hermione.

The bushy haired girl stood up at the sight of Ron and hurried over to him.

"I'm so sorry to hear about the attack on your dad, Ron." She said with genuine empathy. "I can't believe something like this could have happened to him whilst inside the Ministry. It's ridiculous!"

Ron nodded his head at her and gave her a warm smile.

"When did you arrive?" he asked.

"About a half hour ago," Hermione replied. "I didn't really feel like going skiing this year. I told my parents there was a holiday study session taking place at Hogwarts and I told them I needed to attend it, you know so I get good grades. They weren't all that happy about it, but they let me go back."

Ron looked surprised initially before an even wider smile spread over his face.

"Cool" he replied.

Hermione turned to Harry next.

"You just disappeared on me. I was waiting for you at the gates but you never showed up. What happened?" she asked.

"Oh, McGonagall gave me a portkey which brought me here." Harry answered.

"So, have you found anything out about why Mr Weasley was attacked?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Come upstairs, I need to tell you something." Ron said, shooting Harry a look.

Hermione followed Ron out, looking a little confused. Harry sighed before catching Ginny looking at them curiously. He gave her a smile before following his friends, not looking forward to the conversation that was about to happen.

xxx

Hermione stared at Harry.

"You?" she whispered in shock. "You were the one who helped Mr Weasley?"

Harry didn't answer and sat in silence.

Unexpectedly, Hermione moved forward and swatted Harry on the arm.

"You _knew_ what had happened and you never told me!" she screeched at him.

"It was none of your business." Harry answered.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was going crazy trying to figure out what had happened. You could have put me out of my misery." She accused.

Harry shifted in his seat.

"Yeah, well. I was hoping no one would find out." Harry admitted.

"It's hardly a thing to be modest about." Hermione said.

"I'm not being modest." Harry protested. "It's more to do with keeping my cover. The more that they know, the more chances I'll be discovered."

Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"You can tell us anything, Harry. We'll always keep your secrets." Hermione said quietly.

"No matter how crazy they are." Ron added.

Harry smiled despite himself.

xxx

Molly busied herself in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for everyone. She distracted herself from thinking about her husband, who was still recovering in hospital. Shaking her head at the recollection of how weak and hurt Arthur had looked when she last saw him, Molly turned away from the stove and carried the large platter of food into the dining room. Sirius was sitting at the table, joined by Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione. Molly set the platter down and eyed the two empty seats.

"Ron and Harry not down yet?" she asked sternly.

Ginny shook her head as she reached over to fill her plate.

"Nope, I did yell at them to hurry up but they just ignored me." She said.

Molly had just turned towards the door, intending to go upstairs and yell at the lazy boys, when the door opened and Ron walked inside.

"How many times do you have to be called downstairs before you listen?" she asked.

"Sorry" Ron muttered, hurrying to his seat.

Molly waited for a few moments, expecting to see Harry come in after Ron, but there was no sign of him.

"Where's Harry?" she asked, directing the question to her youngest son.

Ron paused while scooping some bacon onto his plate.

"He's still in bed. I don't think he's feeling very well." He answered awkwardly.

Hermione looked over at Ron but didn't say anything. Molly's expression softened and she glanced at the door.

"Poor dear. I'll just check on him." she said, heading to the door.

"Molly, wait," Sirius said getting up from his seat. "I'll do it."

"It's okay; I'll go check on him." Molly repeated.

"I'll do it." Sirius said, walking over to the door.

"Really, Sirius, it's no bother." Molly started.

"I'm his Godfather, I'll check on him." Sirius replied.

"Here's an idea, why don't both of you go check on him." Ginny said, before her mum started arguing.

Sirius and Molly looked at each other before wordlessly walking out of the room together.

xxx

Molly opened Harry's bedroom door as quietly as she could. She saw that Harry was, in fact, still in bed and by he looks of it he was fast asleep. Molly walked inside, followed by Sirius. The mother of seven quickly leapt into action and approached Harry's side, feeling his forehead before rolling the covers down.

"He has a high fever." She told Sirius.

"I can see that." Sirius replied, gesturing to Harry's sweat soaked state.

"I'm just going to grab a few things for him." Molly said, retreating from the room in a hurry.

Sirius conjured a chair and sat next to Harry, feeling ill himself at the sight of his Godson. He reached out to push the damp bangs away from Harry's forehead but stopped before his fingers could touch him. He lowered his hand, feeling uncomfortable with the parental gesture.

Molly appeared momentarily, holding a basin of water and a rag. She set it onto the bedside table. Sirius got up and offered the seat to Molly.

"How did you manage to get such a fever?" Molly asked the sleeping boy as she sat down and set the cool rag onto his burning forehead.

"Maybe the house isn't warm enough." Sirius said guiltily. "I can never tell. I'm used to the cold now."

Molly looked over at him with a sympathetic glance.

"The house is perfectly warm and comfortable, Sirius." She assured him.

Sirius continued to look miserably at the boy.

"These things happen, kids catch the cold and get fevers all the time." she went on.

Sirius nodded his head and looked down at the ground.

"What do we do now?" he asked, feeling lost as to how he could help Harry get better.

"Try and get his temperature down." Molly replied, rinsing the rag with more cool water before setting it down on to Harry's forehead again. "When he wakes up, I'll make sure he eats something; I think I'll make some chicken broth, that always works wonders." She smiled at Sirius. "He'll be better in no time. A vial of fever reducing potion can help too."

"I've got that! I'll just go get it." Sirius said hurrying from the room.

Molly turned her attention back to the sleeping teen and rinsed the rag again to cool it, before replacing it on the sleeping boy's forehead.

xxx

The first thing Harry noticed when he woke up was the hushed whispers in the room. His mind felt foggy and he struggled to fully wake himself up. His head felt heavy as did the rest of his body. He was aware of the tremors that ran through his aching body and he mentally cursed the withdrawals.

He opened his eyes with difficulty and blinked a few times to clear his blurry sight. All he could make out were fuzzy outlines of two people. One was sitting next to him while the other was further back. The whispering stopped and the one next to him leaned forward enough for Harry could make out a red blur around its face.

In his fevered state, Harry called out to the one person he mistakenly thought was sitting next to him.

"Mum?"

The figure didn't say anything but a gentle hand ran over his cheek in a loving gesture. Harry knew from the touch it wasn't his mum. He blinked again and narrowed his eyes to focus.

"Mrs Weasley?" he asked as finally his vision corrected itself.

"Yes, dear. How are you feeling?" Molly cooed in her motherly tone.

Harry tried to sit up but the pain in his fatigued body prevented the action.

"Not great." Harry begrudgingly admitted.

"Here, have this." Molly said, helping Harry sit up slightly before handing him a vial.

Harry held the fever reducing potion in his hand and looked at it.

"It won't stay down." He told her.

"How do you know that?" Sirius asked, walking closer to sit next to Harry.

"I can never stomach anything when I'm ill." Harry answered.

"Maybe you should try it. You may be able to keep this down." Molly urged.

Harry obliged, just to stop her fussing over him.

"What happened to you? You were fine last night." Sirius asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Harry lied. "I was feeling a little unwell late on last night but I didn't think I would get worse."

Molly checked his temperature again.

"It's still the same." She said, genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine. It's always like this when I get ill. I'll get better myself." Harry said, hoping they didn't get suspicious about his strange fever.

Molly looked intently at Harry, trying to judge just how much pain the boy was in. She knew enough about Harry to know that he would never ask for help, even if he desperately needed it.

"Well, I'll just go and see how that broth is getting on." she said and got up to leave.

The door clicked softly after her. Sirius moved from the bed to Molly's vacant seat and sat down.

"You don't have to stay with me. I'm fine, really." Harry said, pushing down his annoyance at not being left alone.

"It's okay. I want to be here." Sirius answered.

Harry swallowed back his argument. He lay quietly for a few minutes, just watching Sirius.

"Are you feeling sick?" Sirius asked.

"No" Harry answered.

"Good, does your head hurt? Do want any pain relief?"

"No, Sirius." Harry replied.

"Okay," Sirius waited a minute before asking again, "Are you feeling better?"

Harry glared at him.

"How can I feel better with you annoying me?" he snapped.

Sirius smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry" he said.

They lapsed into silence. When it became apparent to Harry that Sirius was definitely not going to leave anytime soon, he did the only thing he could. He closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep. Sirius stayed by his side even then, frustrating Harry. After a few minutes, Harry felt a hand awkwardly pat his head.

"Get better soon, Prongslet." Sirius whispered before getting up and leaving quietly.

Harry opened his eyes when he heard the door close. He looked over at the door, feeling a smile force its way onto his face. He couldn't help but like that nickname.

xxx

Over the next three days, Harry continued to get worse. His fever continued to rise and no matter how many vials of fever reducing potion he swallowed, it did nothing to the raging fever. Molly was trying everything to help him but nothing seemed to settle him. Sirius was contemplating taking Harry to St Mungos but Harry point blank refused.

"They can't do anything for a fever." Harry told him in a hoarse voice. "They'll only tell me to go home and get some rest. I'll be fine."

Harry knew that his withdrawals were going to get worse before they got any better. Poppy had explained to him that the withdrawals would get very uncomfortable and extremely painful before they started to die down. This was actually a good sign; it meant that Harry was nearing the end of his potion addiction. Soon, possibly in a matter of six to nine months, he would be over the addiction and wouldn't have to suffer anymore withdrawals.

However, the people around him didn't know that Harry was going through addiction withdrawals. All they knew was that Harry had a dangerously high fever and was unable to keep even water down. Among the worried Molly and Sirius, was a worried but suspicious Hermione. She had sat next to Harry too, keeping him company like Ginny and Ron did, but she noticed a few things that unnerved her.

It wasn't so much the fever and the lack of appetite Harry showed, but the numerous nosebleeds that set her mind working furiously. She remembered the only other time she had seen Harry have a nosebleed. It was during class, about two months ago and Harry had looked unwell then as well. She remembered how lethargic he had seemed for the next two days, never eating much and retiring to his bed early. She realised he had been unwell then as well but never gave it much thought. Now, however, she was starting to get curious about this strange recurring fever and nosebleeds.

"Don't you think it's strange?" she asked Ron, after sharing her thoughts with him.

"No, I think you're just paranoid about everything." Ron answered.

"Having frequent nosebleeds and fevers that don't respond to potions is not normal, Ron." Hermione whispered.

"Yeah, but he's different." Ron said. "Maybe his fevers are worse and he gets nosebleeds because of that. He's magically very strong and perhaps that is why when he gets ill it affects him so badly."

Hermione nodded reluctantly.

"That could be it," she admitted. "But I don't know why, I feel there is more to this."

"Just drop it, Hermione." Ron said sternly. "Just focus on him getting better not why he's ill in the first place."

xxx

It was the day before Christmas that Harry's fever finally broke, much to everyone's relief. Sirius had looked like the one recovering from a horrendous fever; he had not shaved or bathed the four days Harry was ill. He stayed with Harry throughout the days and nights, looking after him. His distress at seeing Harry being violently sick or the sight of his blood when his nose started bleeding was extreme. It annoyed Harry to no end but he was in no state to yell at Sirius.

When Harry was finally able to get out of bed, he jumped into the shower and had a much needed long and hot shower, letting the hot water pour over his aching muscles.

He walked out of the bathroom and into his room, towel drying his hair. He noted the dark haired man's presence as soon as he walked inside.

Sirius smiled deeply at the sight of his Godson on his feet, looking back to normal.

"Hey, I brought you some lunch." He said, gesturing to the bowl of steaming soup. "Molly thinks it's better to start slow, so you can keep your food down."

Harry threw aside his towel and sat down on the bed, noting the fresh sheets Molly had no doubt placed while Harry was in the shower. Harry eagerly started on the soup, wanting to give his ravenous stomach some food.

"You look a lot better." Sirius said, smiling at Harry.

"A shower can do you wonders." Harry answered. Then looking at his Godfathers shabby state, he added. "Which, by the way there's no law against."

Sirius laughed and ran a hand through his long hair.

"Yeah, I'll get to it." he said.

Harry wrinkled his nose.

"If you want me to keep my food down, you better go now and take a really long hot bath."

Sirius looked surprised at Harry's cheek.

"I don't smell that bad!" he said, faking an affronted look.

"You're animagus form is a dog. Your supposed to have a keen sense of smell." Harry teased.

Sirius opened his mouth to answer but then shut it again.

"Fine, I'll go and shower, but I'm only doing this for you." He said, standing up.

"I'm eternally grateful." Harry joked back.

Sirius ruffled Harry's still wet hair before leaving, a smile on his lips.

Harry went back to his soup, enjoying every mouthful.

xxx

Christmas day arrived and with it came a visit to St Mungos. This time, Harry and Hermione both were invited.

"I think Arthur would like to see you. I told him both of you were here." Molly said, soon after they had breakfast.

"I'll just go and get changed." Hermione said heading with Ginny to the room they shared.

Ron got up from the table at the same time as Fred and George, intending to get changed out of their pyjamas. He noticed Harry had made no move to get up. "Coming Harry?" he asked.

Harry looked over at Ron.

"I think I'll pass." He said quietly.

"You don't want to go and see my dad?" Ron asked.

"It's not that. It's just," he looked down at his hands. "I don't really know him. Plus, it's Christmas, it should be just his family with him today."

"For my dad, you _are_ a part of _his_ family." Ron said. "Mum and Dad have always considered Harry as one of their own. They care about him, they care about _you_."

"But, Ron…"

"Just come, Harry." Ron cut across him. "He wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for you."

Knowing he wasn't going to win this, Harry gave up and nodded his head.

"Okay," he agreed, standing up. "Let's go."

xxx

Harry walked along with Hermione behind the rest of the Weasley clan, heading towards the room on the First floor, where Arthur was recovering. Harry walked into the room, behind the rest, feeling horribly out of place. He saw the bespectacled man sitting up in his bed, reading the newspaper. He looked up as Molly walked over to him, leading the rest, and smiled a tired but warm smile.

"Hello, Arthur. Merry Christmas." Molly said with a kiss on his cheek.

"Merry Christmas," Arthur returned to his wife. He looked over at his kids and his eyes sparkled with happiness. "Merry Christmas kids!" he greeted, including Harry and Hermione in his greeting too.

Ginny was the only one out of them that bent down to kiss her father on the cheek, before embracing him tightly.

"How are you feeling now, Mr Weasley?" Hermione asked.

Arthur smiled at her.

"A lot better. Thank you, Hermione."

His eyes moved from Hermione to Harry and settled on him. Harry could feel a strange sensation seep down his back, making him shiver.

"How have you been, Harry?" Arthur asked quietly. "Molly told me you had taken ill recently."

Harry resisted the urge to fidget.

"I'm fine now." he answered.

"Good, good." Arthur returned, his gaze still on Harry.

"You look a lot better now too." Ron said, his expression showing his relief.

"The Healers have been great in patching me back up. They were saying I may even be able to be discharged soon." Arthur told his family.

"Really? How soon?" George asked.

"It will still be a few more days yet, but hopefully, if the treatment works this time, I might be out of here in ten days or so."

"Do you remember anything about the attack, dad?" Fred asked.

Arthur turned his head back around in Harry's direction and he gave the boy another unsettling stare. Harry dropped his eyes to the ground and focused on keeping still. Ron had told him the last time they saw their dad he was in no state to talk to them. No one had asked him anything about the attack, knowing their dad was unable to tell them anything. Now however, he was better and more capable of retelling what had happened to him.

"I don't remember much to be honest." Arthur started. "I was on duty and I fell asleep. I should have called for my replacement but I must have dozed off without fully realising it. I only woke up when I felt the thing bite me."

Hermione sucked in a breath but didn't say anything.

"Did you see it?" Ginny asked, looking quite sick.

"Glimpses of it." Arthur replied. "It moved so fast, I couldn't see it coming for me until it was too late. I could feel the venom affecting me, paralysing me and blanketing my vision." Arthur shook his head. "It was the single most terrifying experience of my life." He admitted.

Molly was holding onto her husband's hand and began rubbing it, a comforting gesture.

"That's awful, I'm so sorry." Hermione said, looking quite upset.

"I count myself very lucky to still be here." Arthur replied with a smile. "I thought that was it for me."

"Oh, hush, Arthur." Molly said, close to tears.

"I could actually see flashes of my life before my eyes." Arthur continued. "I could hear the voices of my family and friends in my head." here he looked over at Harry. "And I can swear that I heard you calling out to me." He added.

Harry managed to give him a smile and a force a laugh.

"Me? Really?" he asked.

"Yes, only, you called me Arthur a few times." He said with a small smile.

Harry's eyes met Ron's and both boys looked away quickly.

"That's enough of that sort of talk," Molly admonished. "Tell me more about your treatment. Have the wounds started to heal yet?"

Arthur gave Molly a look that Harry had seen James give to Lily many times. It usually accompanied a lot of yelling on Lily's part.

"Well, dear the thing is…the Healers tried everything but the…the venom is too strong, it doesn't allow the wound to close up. So I suggested a method I heard about. Ahem, it…it's very effective with muggle injuries you know…so…so I thought it may work. It's, um, it's called stitches and it usually works very well with open wounds…"

"This isn't going to end well." Hermione whispered to Harry.

Harry nodded, watching Mrs Weasley for her reaction.

Molly had her frown in place and with each word she was getting more and more worked up.

"Stitches?! Huh, doesn't sound very good to me. It sounds like sowing up the wound!" She said.

"Well…that is…sort of, the…the general, um, idea." Arthur mumbled.

"What do you mean that is the general idea!?!" Molly yelled.

Ron looked over at his two friends.

"Tea break?" he mouthed.

"Oh, god, yes!" Hermione said, quickly getting to her feet.

Ginny joined Harry, eager to get away before the real shouting started.

"It's usually very effective." Arthur tried reasoning.

"I don't care!" Molly yelled, looking furious. "How could the Healers listen to such an absurd suggestion!?" she narrowed her eyes at her husband. "Did it at least work?"

Arthur looked away before mumbling.

"Not really…the…the venom sort of…dissolved, the stitches."

Fred and George almost leapt out of their mum's way as she moved over to Arthur's other side, demanding he show her these absurd _stitches_.

"Get out, get out!" Fred told his twin and both boys ran to join the others at the door to make their escape.

"Phew! That was close, she nearly knocked us both over." George said, as soon as they left the room.

"I don't blame her this time. How could dad suggest sewing the wounds up? It's absurd." Ron said as the group started walking over to the elevators.

"Actually, your dad was right. Stitches work very well with wounds." Hermione told him.

Ron looked at her with wide disbelieving eyes.

"Have _you_ ever had stitches?" he asked.

"Well, no but…" Hermione answered.

"Then you don't know for certain that they work." Ron accused.

"Yes, I do. They are very common in the muggle world."

"Who cares? They didn't work for dad, that's all the matters." Ginny intervened.

That quietened Ron and Hermione down. They reached the elevators and pushed the button.

"I think we'll take a look around the hospital, give ourselves a tour." Fred and George said simultaneously.

"What? Why? What are you two up to?" Ginny asked, sounding like their mother.

"Nothing, we'll see you later." Fred said, winking at her.

"You do know that stealing medical supplies from a hospital is against the law, right?" Hermione asked tiredly.

"Honestly, Hermione. What do you take us for?" George asked.

They walked away before the elevator arrived.

"I think I'll follow them. I _know_ they're up to no good." Ginny muttered before following her brothers.

"Well, that was…strange." Harry said.

"Nah, that was Fred and George." Ron replied.

The elevator arrived and the three of them got in.

"Which floor is the tea room on?" Ron asked.

"Fourth, I think." Hermione said.

"It's the fifth." Harry said.

"Too late, I've pressed fourth." Ron said.

The elevator shuddered up to the fourth floor before the doors opened. Ron pressed the button for the fifth floor but Hermione suddenly slammed her hand on the doors, stopping them from closing.

"Oh my!" she said, eyes wide and fixed on the sight before her.

Ron and Harry followed her gaze and saw a set of white doors with a small window. A man was standing with his face pressed against the window, smiling serenely at them.

"Blimey!" Ron whispered, staring at the blonde, wavy haired man.

Harry just stared at the stranger, confused as to who he was.

Ron and Hermione walked out of the elevator, eyes fixed to the man who was still smiling at them.

"I can't believe its Professor Lockhart." Hermione said, staring at him.

"Professor?" Harry asked, walking out of the elevator to join them.

Ron nodded his head.

"He was our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor in our second year." He explained.

Harry looked back at the man who had his nose pressed up against the window. His eyes drifted to the sign hanging next to floor number.

**Magical Maladies and Injuries - Ward 49 – Spell Damage**

"I always thought Hogwarts Professors were mad. Now I know." he said with a smirk.

Hermione turned to glare at him.

"I'm sorry but didn't you say your mum and dad are Professors at Hogwarts?"

Harry's smirk faded and he narrowed his eyes at Hermione.

"For once, could you not remember every single detail?"

Hermione smiled and looked away.

The doors opened and the blonde haired man with an impossibly wide grin that showed dazzling white teeth, walked over to them.

"Well, hello there!" he said cheerfully. "I know why you're here. You've come for an autograph, haven't you?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling with joy.

"Um, no, not really." Ron said.

Lockhart appeared not to hear him. He smiled in the same vacant way.

"How, how are you Professor?" Hermione asked awkwardly.

Lockhart looked surprised at the title.

"Professor? Me?" he asked pointing to himself.

"You…you don't remember?" Ron asked, wearing a guilty expression.

Lockhart beamed at them.

"Of course! On doesn't forget being the best Professor in the world! Got plenty of awards I did!" he puffed out his chest and nodded his head at them.

"Erm…?" Ron looked torn between correcting him and just agreeing with him.

"Come along, now. Don't want to keep my fans waiting." Lockhart said before turning and wandering back through the doors.

Hermione turned to look at Ron.

"No." Ron shook his head.

"It's Christmas," Hermione pleaded. "He probably doesn't have anyone visiting him."

"That's because he did Memory Charms on all those he met so they would forget about him!" Ron returned.

Hermione continued to look at him.

"I'm going in to see him, it's not right that he's alone on Christmas."

"He tried to Obliviate me and Harry!" Ron hissed, outraged that Hermione was considering being nice to Lockhart.

"He doesn't remember that. He doesn't seem to remember anything." she paused before looking back over at the door. She turned to face Ron. "Come on, Ron. What will it hurt?"

Ron looked ready to argue but then gave up with a sigh.

"Go on then." He said, following her towards the door.

They turned to see Harry still standing in the same spot.

"Coming Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No, thanks. I'd rather not spend time with mad people. I'll wait for you here."

Ron looked like he wanted to join him but Hermione had grabbed a strong hold of his arm and led him through the doors.

"Five minutes!" Ron called out to Harry before being dragged away.

Harry waited in the corridor, having nothing to keep him occupied. He paced the corridor, waiting for the two to show up. It was at least ten minutes before the doors opened again. But when Harry turned around, it wasn't Ron and Hermione he saw. The two people that had walked out of Ward 49 were Neville Longbottom and an elderly witch with green robes, a fox-fur scarf, and a very unusual hat, topped with what looked like a stuffed vulture.

Harry was on the other side of the corridor, furthest away from the elevator, so didn't attract their attention.

"Come along, Neville." She instructed sternly. Neville followed with his head bowed, a miserable look on his face. "I can't believe you never told your friends about your parents!" the woman continued, pushing the button for the elevator.

Neville never answered but continued to look down, pushing his hands further into his pockets, hunching his shoulders. Harry watched with growing curiosity as the woman walked into the elevator, still telling him off about being 'embarrassed' and 'ashamed' of his parents.

Harry waited until Neville had joined the woman and the doors to the elevator had shut before he walked over to the doors leading to the Ward. He couldn't understand what he had just seen and heard. He moved towards the doors, intending to go inside when Ron and Hermione appeared, looking upset and slightly pale.

"What happened?" Harry asked as soon as the two walked over to him.

Hermione shook her head, eyes brimming with tears.

"It's just awful. I never knew…poor Neville."

"Never knew what? What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"We met Neville and his Gran inside," Ron began to explain. "She told us that they were here to…to visit Neville's parents."

Harry heard the words but their meaning never fully hit him. His eyes travelled back up to the sign, reading it again, taking in the full meaning of them. He looked back at Ron and Hermione.

"We knew that Neville lived with his Gran, but we never thought to ask why." Hermione said, looking awfully guilty. "We just assumed they were…dead."

"That would have been better," Ron said quietly. "Death would be better than to be driven insane by the Cruciatus curse. I'd never want to see anyone I cared about like…like that." he shook his head, eyes scrunched shut.

"Poor Neville!" Hermione said again, a sob nearly escaping her.

Without saying a word, Harry moved forward and walked through the doors. Ron and Hermione watched him but didn't follow. Something in Harry's expression told them not to follow him.

Harry let his feet lead him inside. He saw the wavy haired blond man sitting upright, scribbling furiously on a pack of photographs. There was another sallow-skinned man lying in the bed opposite, looking at the ceiling with a mournful expression. A few beds along lay a woman with her entire head covered in fur. At the far end, were two beds that had a curtain still drawn around them. Harry moved towards them, his heart telling him the entire time that he was going to find some other two people, not Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Before Harry could reach them, a Healer stopped him, a gentle look on her face.

"Hello there! We get so many visitors on Christmas." She said joyfully. "Who are you here to visit?" she asked.

Harry looked over to the curtain, hiding the occupants of the two beds. The Healer turned to look behind her. She looked over at Harry, a confused look on her face.

"You've come to visit the Longbottoms? That's strange, I've never seen you here before." she said. "This is our long term residents' ward for permanent spell damage. We usually get to know the visitors just as well as our patients."

Harry swallowed the strange lump in his throat and managed to speak.

"I'm a friend of Neville." The situation was such that the bizarreness of that statement never bothered him.

The motherly looking witch smiled.

"Oh, it's only supposed to be family members." She gave Harry another look. "Oh, well, seeing as it's Christmas, just a few minutes won't hurt I suppose." she moved out of the way, going towards the woman with fur covering her entire head.

Harry hesitated a moment, his fingers lingering on the flowery curtain. He still told himself he was going to find Frank and Alice here, in a Ward for permanent spell damage.

Slowly, Harry peeled the curtain aside and stepped forward. His heart jumped at the sight of the two familiar faces staring vacantly at the ceiling. His eyes fell on Alice first; her round smiling face was now thin and pale. The usual sparkle present in her soft brown eyes was gone. Her hair was wispy and grey, no life in them at all. She was lying with her arms by her side. She could have been dead if not for the small rising and falling of her chest.

Harry looked over at the bed next to hers and saw Frank lying in almost the same position. He looked frail and older than he was. His hair was almost gone and the way his arms lay listlessly next to him disturbed Harry more than anything else he saw.

He had spent countless evenings in the company of the Longbottoms. Of course at that time they thought they were John and Fiona. Harry remembered the way Frank always seemed to be lifting things, whether it was heavy equipment needed for the fight clubs, crates of alcohol bottles for the customers or his infant son who he used to lift with one hand and sit on his shoulders.

Thinking of Nigel brought a sudden wave of pain. Harry felt like each breath he was taking was bringing with it an increasingly agonising ache. He couldn't understand what part of him hurt. It just felt painful all over.

Reaching out, Harry sat on the foot of Alice's bed, feeling unsteady on his feet. The movement didn't stir the occupant; she continued to stare at the ceiling. Harry reached out, only realising then how much his hand was shaking, and touched Alice's hand.

"Alice?"

She didn't move, no recognition or reaction to her name. Harry looked over at Frank and saw that he too didn't move or show awareness to the fact that a third person was with them. Harry looked back at Alice, imaging the smile that almost always was on her face. He could almost hear her laughter ring in his head. Did she ever laugh now? Was she even able to?

A drop fell onto his lap. Harry, bewildered, reached up and touched his cheek, surprised to find wetness there.

The Healer returned and pulled the curtain back.

"Have you finished? We have to give them their medicines." She explained kindly.

Harry stood up, eyes still on Alice, seemingly unable to pull his gaze away.

"Who was it?" he asked. He turned to face the Healer. "The one who did this to them, who was it?"

The Healer looked into Harry's face, caught off by his expression and darkened eyes but she composed herself.

"It's not really my place to say. You say you are a friend of their son, Neville? He can tell you, if he wants." She said.

"Who was it?" Harry repeated and this time the anger in his voice wasn't lost.

"Well, I suppose I could tell you. I can't divulge any medical information but I can tell you what happened." She looked at the two patients before continuing. "It was a group of Death Eaters. It was shortly after…after _He_ disappeared, you know, after the Potters murder? The group of Death Eaters attacked Frank and Alice, tortured them to get information on the whereabouts of their master." She shook her head. "Of course, no one knew where _He_ had gone. They drove poor Frank and Alice to insanity." She said sadly. "They were arrested, the Death Eaters, sent to Azkaban. But, well, you must have read about it in the paper. They escaped recently. I hope the Aurors catch them soon."

"Their names?" Harry asked, unable to keep the growl away from his voice.

The Healer looked worried but she spoke in an even voice.

"I can't remember all their names, but the two Death Eaters that led them were well known Death Eaters." She looked straight at Harry. "Everyone's heard of them; Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Rodolphus."

xxx

The chatter of the Great Hall was always livelier at the return-to-school feast. Everyone had loud and long stories about the Christmas break to tell. Among the excited and chattering students sat a quiet Harry. Ron and Hermione were talking with each other, giving Harry small glances but not involving him in their conversation.

Ever since Harry's visit to St Mungos, he had been quiet and distant with everyone. Ron and Hermione knew that his mood had something to do with the revelation that Neville's parents were in hospital but they couldn't figure out why it had affected him so badly. Hermione had tried to ask Harry if he was friends with Neville in his world but Harry simply ignored her. Judging by his cold behaviour with the Neville here, Hermione was doubtful that Harry was friends with him in his own world.

Ron had stayed out of Harry's way and advised Hermione to do the same. He could see Harry wasn't going to say anything to anyone about what he was going through and he also knew it wasn't particularly clever to annoy him right now. During the rest of their stay at Grimmauld place, Ron had woken up at night to find Harry gone for hours at a time. One night, he saw Harry apparate back at five in the morning supporting bleeding knuckles. He had just fallen into bed and lay awake, staring angrily at the ceiling. His knuckles were healed in the morning.

Ron looked over at Harry and quickly looked away again.

"Don't you think we should say…_something_." Hermione whispered.

"Just leave him alone. He's obviously going through something." Ron said.

Hermione glanced at Harry again.

"It's been almost a week and he hasn't spoken a word to anyone." Hermione said worriedly.

Ron didn't say anything but picked up his fork to finish his dinner. Hermione took the hint and went back to her dinner, feeling totally lost as to how to help her friend.

xxx

Harry walked down the staircase and into the common room. He couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Frank and Alice's listless forms lying on the hospital beds. It hurt all the more knowing _who_ was to blame for their state. Harry forced himself not to think about Bella. He was vaguely aware of the fact that the deal he had made with Voldemort now ceased to exist. He had surpassed the two weeks time that Voldemort had given him. Now he couldn't get the compass from him. But Harry found, that strange as it was, he didn't care. For him the deal was over the moment he looked into Alice's lifeless eyes.

His restlessness meant that all he wanted to do was go out as Alex and take his frustration out on his muggle opponents. He was well aware of the fact that Ron was still awake and watching him. He didn't care about disapparating in front of him but there were three other boys in the room to consider. Therefore, he was sneaking downstairs to disapparate.

As soon as he stepped into the common room, he realised his plan wasn't going to work. Sitting on one of the sofas was the one boy Harry didn't want to see; Neville Longbottom.

Neville looked up in surprise at Harry.

"Oh, hey, Harry. You scared me." He smiled softly. "I couldn't sleep." He offered in explanation.

Harry stared back at him, the smiling face of the boy's mother swimming before his eyes.

"Hey" he managed quietly.

Neville's smile slipped off his face as he noticed Harry's expression. He lowered his eyes to the ground when he spoke.

"They told you," he said. "Ron and Hermione, I figured they would." he looked up at Harry with a defeated look. "Can you do me a favour, Harry? Don't say anything to anyone else. I'm not ready for everyone to know just yet."

Harry walked over to the boy and sat down facing him.

"They didn't say anything," Harry said, referring to Ron and Hermione. "I was there too, at the hospital. I was waiting outside for them. I saw you leave with your Gran."

Neville looked surprised but he nodded his head.

"Oh! Alright." He said quietly.

"I won't say anything to anyone. Neither will Ron or Hermione." Harry promised.

"Thanks" Neville replied.

The next few minutes went by in silence.

"I'm not ashamed of them." Neville broke the silence. "I know you probably think that I am but I'm not."

"I don't think that." Harry said quietly.

Neville looked at Harry intently, as if trying to see if he was telling the truth. He finally looked away.

"I read about my dad in a book once." Neville said, staring at his folded hands in his lap. "He was a renowned Auror, one of the elite." He shook his head. "I could never be ashamed of him." he looked up at Harry. "But I don't know if they would be proud of me." He said sadly.

Harry didn't say anything to comfort him. Instead he asked a simple question.

"Why do you think that?"

Neville gave Harry a sad smile.

"Come on, Harry. You've known me for the last five years now. Other than Herbology, what class have you seen me do well in? I can't do anything right, not even simple things." He shook his head. "The great Auror Frank Longbottom's son, no better than a bloody squib."

"So why don't you do something about it?" Harry asked without sympathy.

Neville looked outraged at Harry, his eyes growing impossibly wide.

"Don't you think I've tried?" he asked. "I work so hard but it doesn't seem to make a difference. All I manage is to scrape a pass! I can't work any harder!"

"Then don't, just work differently." Harry said simply.

Neville looked confused. He sat back and stared at Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, apply the same dedication but in a different way." Harry explained. He moved forward so he was facing Neville. "I know for a fact Neville, that you can do _a lot_ more. You can excel in whatever you want to. You can even take me down in a duel."

Neville looked at Harry with a frown.

"You're making fun of me." He said.

"No, I'm not. I'm serious." Harry said.

"But how can I do…all that?" he asked. "I don't even know what it is I should do."

Harry sat back and looked at Neville for a moment. A smile spread on his face.

"I'll help you," Harry said. "But you can't tell anyone, not even Ron and Hermione."

"Why?" Neville asked.

"It'll just be easier." Harry said.

"What are you going to do?" Neville asked, looking a little apprehensive.

Harry smirked.

"Just consider it as extra DA lessons."

xxx

The next morning at breakfast, Harry sat down opposite Ron and Hermione with a smile.

"Morning"

Hermione and Ron stared at Harry with initial surprise. That was the first word he had spoken to them since Christmas day.

"Morning" both returned.

Taking a chance, Hermione pushed on.

"How are you feeling now?" she asked.

Harry nodded his head.

"Better"

Hermione smiled.

"So, have you sorted out what it was that was bothering you?" surprisingly, it was Ron who asked the question.

Harry looked over to his right and saw, a few seats down, Neville having his breakfast whilst talking with Dean.

"Yeah, I think I may have." Harry answered.

xxx

It was their third day back at Hogwarts and Hermione had already scheduled the first DA lesson of the semester.

"So we meet at the same time tomorrow, okay?" she confirmed.

"Any idea what you're going to be teaching us?" Ron asked as the three walked to their second class of the day.

"Wandless magic," Harry answered. He smiled at the excited looks Hermione and Ron gave. "I thought you guys might like that."

"Blimey! Now that's one class I can't wait for!" Ron said with his usual grin.

They entered their Charms classroom and sat down, waiting for the Professor to arrive. Before anyone else could enter, a strange and terrifying sound filled the room. It was an alarm of some sort but it was so loud and high pitched, it seemed to pierce straight into you.

With her hands on her ears, Hermione yelled.

"What's going on?!"

"No idea!" Ron yelled back.

Harry had never heard the sound in Hogwarts before. Judging by the looks of surprise and shock on the rest of the students, Harry knew no one else had heard it either.

Suddenly the siren ended leaving everyone's ears ringing.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron asked.

The door opened and Professor Flitwick entered, looking flustered.

"Everyone! Form a line and head to the Great Hall, quickly!"

The students did as they were told; whispering furiously about what was going on. Harry followed the rest into the Great Hall and wasn't surprised to find the rest of the school gathering there too. The staff was there too, looking worried and panicked.

The doors closed with a loud thud, making everyone look around at it. Harry noticed that there were swirls of gold, bronze, black and silver hovering around the respective tables, falling onto the students. He figured it was the spell that checked the attendance of each student.

He looked around at the staff table and only then did he realise that the Headmaster was missing. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and held up her hand, a sign to quieten everyone.

"There has been a breach in security. The wards have set off the alarm to signal that a foreign entity has entered the school grounds. Hogwarts has effectively shut down. The Wards have locked all entrances into and out of the school and it will remain that way until the uninvited guests have been investigated." She paused here and looked around at all four houses. "You all will remain here until then."

She stepped away and turned to face the other staff members.

"Foreign entities? What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"It means non human." Harry replied.

"For a moment, I was scared it was Death Eaters." Hermione whispered.

Harry turned to look at her.

"There are far more terrifying things than Death Eaters." He whispered to her.

She nodded her head.

Harry turned around to see Snape marching over to the staff table, a look of fury on his face. He whispered heatedly with McGonagall, his expression turning fiercer with each word. McGonagall turned around to face the Slytherin table, a look of unmistakable fear on her face.

"What's going on? What's Snape told her?" Ron asked, noting the exchange.

"I don't know." Hermione said, biting her lip with worry.

"I do," Harry said, he had seen that expression on McGonagall before. It was three years ago when a Daywalker attack had cut short a Hogsmeade visit. Harry turned to face Ron and Hermione. "There are students missing."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The return of the evil cliffie!! I know, it's horrible of me but the chapter is already 37 pages long!! It had to end! LOL!!! I promised some action so the next chapter will have lots of action!! Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Cheers!!


	33. A Little Saving People Thing

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty Three**

_**AU World **_

Damien looked around the various tables with numerous students sitting at them, searching for the mop of messy hair. He found it sitting at the table almost hidden in the back. He hurried over to him.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you." He said as he sat down opposite.

Harry looked up at Damien before going back to his essay.

"I needed to finish my homework before lunch is over." He answered.

"Why?" Damien asked.

"Because it's due after lunch." Harry answered, looking back at Damien with a smile.

"Finally," Damien breathed. "Someone who works like I do!"

Harry chuckled, shaking his head.

"I usually have Hermione to remind me when homework is due." Harry explained.

"Yeah, annoying that isn't it." Damien said but with a smile.

"When did you finish it?" Harry asked, looking back at his essay.

Damien frowned at him.

"What are you talking about?"

Harry looked up at him.

"The Charms essay? When did you complete it?"

Damien shrugged.

"I didn't have a Charms essay, I don't think so anyway." He frowned.

Harry blinked at him.

"Damien, we are in the same class. If I have a Charms essay to complete, then you will have one too."

Damien stared at him for a moment before his hazel eyes widened. He slapped his forehead.

"Oh crap! I forgot!" he exclaimed.

Harry chuckled and pulled a blank piece of parchment and a spare quill from his bag. He pushed it across the table at Damien.

"You better get started." He told him with a laugh.

Damien grabbed at the offered things and started scribbling away frantically. He pulled a few of the reference books scattered across the table towards himself and started writing furiously.

Harry watched him for a moment before shaking his head and returning to completing his essay.

xxx

"Well, that's Troll for sure." Damien complained, referring to his essay, as he walked out of the Charms classroom.

Harry slapped a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Better luck next time." he whispered.

"Luck has nothing to do with it. It's my bloody memory that lets me down." Damien grumbled.

They walked to the next and last class of the day, Herbology.

"We didn't have any homework for Professor Sprout, did we?" Damien asked as they walked towards the greenhouse.

Harry shook his head, grinning at the expression the other boy wore. They walked in relative silence, bristling against the chilly wind that swept at them, turning their hands and noses pink.

"Do you have tutoring with mum later?" Damien whispered so no other student overheard.

"Not tonight." Harry answered.

"You want to hang?" Damien asked.

"Sure" Harry shrugged.

They entered the greenhouse and went to their respective seats, ready for the last class of the day.

After dinner, Damien and Harry decided to hang out in the Gryffindor common room. Harry noticed a lot of stares from the rest of the Gryffindors but no one came to talk to him. He was left in relative peace, with only Damien chatting to him. Harry marvelled at how much the boy could talk. He was telling him rather animatedly about some prank he had planned. Harry could see the lasting effect Fred and George had left on him. Or perhaps Damien was like this because he grew up amongst the famous Hogwarts Marauders. Either way, Damien was an enthusiastic prankster.

"What do you think?" he asked Harry.

"I think, you'll be grounded for ten years after mum finds out you flooded the school." Harry replied.

Damien's face fell.

"Yeah, that is a good point." He admitted. He sighed dramatically. "Oh well, back to the drawing board." He extended one hand towards his bag, which was lying next to Harry's chair and muttered 'Accio'. The bag suddenly flew across and landed in his grip.

Harry stared at him with wide surprised eyes while Damien pulled out his 'planning pranks' notebook, preparing to make amends to his latest plan. He looked up and saw Harry's stunned expression.

"What?" he asked.

"You can do wandless magic?" Harry asked.

Damien nodded.

"So?" he questioned.

"I just…I never knew that." Harry responded.

Damien smiled.

"Dad taught me it. It's a great skill to have, especially when you play Chaser in a team." He winked and grinned at Harry.

"I knew you were cheating." Harry mumbled. "No wonder the quaffle always 'magically' came at you."

Damien laughed.

"I only do wandless magic in friendly matches, never in proper school games." Damien assured him.

"Yeah, yeah" Harry teased. After a moment he glanced back at him. "Dad taught you?" Damien nodded. "I thought, I figured it was Harry."

Damien shook his head.

"He was surprised too, when he saw me wandlessly enlarging his broom." He chuckled at the memory. That was the night Harry needed to escape from the party thrown by Minister Fudge. Damien looked over at Harry, an idea forming in his head. "I can show you how to do it, if you want."

Harry looked excited.

"Yeah, cool."

Both boys got up and headed for the door. There was only one room in the castle where they could practise in peace.

xxx

"You're not focusing." Damien complained. "It's not that hard, Harry."

"Maybe not for you." Harry grumbled as he fell back on the floor resting.

Damien had asked the Room of Requirement for no furniture, so they had a big open empty space.

"It's just a book. You should be able to summon it." Damien said, gesturing towards the thin copy of 'Quidditch Heroes'

Harry sat up and crossed his legs, frowning at Damien.

"I'm trying, but nothing is happening."

Damien walked over to Harry, sitting down next to him.

"Try again." He instructed.

Harry looked over at the book, letting out a deep sigh, concentrating with all his might. He tried to follow the guidelines Damien had set out. He tried to feel the magic inside him, to pull it out of himself, force it into an extension of his arm, to grab the book and bring it over to himself. But all that happened was that his insides ached and he felt unexplainably tired.

"I can't do it!" Harry said, getting to his feet. "It's hopeless."

Damien stood up with him.

"You can do it. In fact _you're_ very good at wandless magic."

Harry glared at him.

"Just because he can do something doesn't mean I can too." He argued.

"I have to disagree." Damien argued.

"Disagree all you want." Harry said, picking up the book with his hand and stuffing it back into his bag. "It doesn't change anything."

Damien watched the irate Harry with a thoughtful expression.

"Maybe it's not working because you're tired. We'll try on the weekend, first thing in the morning."

Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, okay." He agreed half heartedly.

He didn't think the timing of day would make any difference. He felt he just didn't have it in him to perform exceptional magic.

xxx

Harry had a fitful night, tossing and turning. No matter how he arranged himself on his bed, he couldn't get comfortable enough to fall asleep. He didn't know why he was so restless. He stared at his ceiling for the majority of the night.

It was at daybreak when he felt his eyelids grow too heavy to keep open. He fell asleep only to be woken up a few hours later by a strange dark shadow leaning over him. Harry yelped and sat up, only to realise that the shadow in fact belonged to his Godfather.

Sirius chuckled as he leaned back, sitting on the edge of Harry's bed.

"Sirius! Damn it, you scared me." Harry said.

"Sorry, I was just checking to make sure you were really asleep." The dark haired Auror replied with his usual smile.

"Why would I pretend?" Harry asked.

Sirius shrugged.

"Kids, they do the strangest of things."

Harry frowned at him.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you but, why are you here?" Harry asked, still groggy from his short sleep.

Sirius laughed and eyed Harry.

"You know, I see more and more of your mother in you every time."

Harry smiled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Sorry, I am glad to see you, really I am. It's just…it's been a rough night."

"Well, this might make you feel better." Sirius reached into his robes pocket and pulled out a thin file. "Sorry it took me a while to get to it. It wasn't easy to find."

Harry took the offered file and saw the name written on the side tab, 'Hagrid, Rubeus'

"You got it! Thanks Sirius!" Harry said, brightening up at once.

"Don't mention it, especially to your dad." Sirius winked. "I better go, I'm going to say a quick hi to James and Lily before heading to the office." He got up and quietly left the room, leaving Harry still sitting on the bed.

xxx

Later that day, as soon as dinner was over, Harry and Damien ran to the Room of Requirement. Harry pulled the file out of his bag while Damien locked the door. Both boys sat down on the floor, peering over the Ministry file.

They had everything, everything that was ever known about Rubeus Hagrid. His entire life was laid out on the pages before them. His date of birth, a brief mention of his father; Hagrid senior, Hagrid's expulsion from Hogwarts, his becoming Gamekeeper and at last his death. Harry and Damien read through it all, keeping silent.

The description of the duel that took Hagrid's life was awfully brief and offered no further information than Dumbledore's initial explanation.

"This sucks!" Damien said, pushing himself away from the file. "We didn't learn anything new from this at all!"

Harry was quiet and kept his eyes fixed on the file, even though he had already read through it twice already.

"Now what?" Damien asked glumly.

"We keep looking." Harry said, finally looking away from the file and at Damien. "There must be something we can do, someone we can talk to, anything that will lead us to the truth."

Damien looked thoughtful.

"We can try the Researcher's Corner." Harry suggested.

Damien shook his head.

"We have to put in a request and that can take a few months to get approved."

"We can ask Hermione to do us a favour." Harry said.

Damien gave Harry an awkward look.

"She can't, she had her key taken away after what happened…on my birthday."

Harry felt awful guilt swell inside of him.

"But that wasn't her fault. I stole her key!" Harry said.

"She didn't tell them that. She didn't want you to get in trouble so, she made it seem like she gave you the key." Damien explained. "According to her boss, she violated her work terms and so had to be reprimanded. Taking away her key meant she would lose some of the privileges as a Researcher."

Harry was mortified. He couldn't believe he had landed Hermione in so much trouble.

"I never meant…I can't believe she got into so much trouble because of me." Harry's frown deepened as he began to think of ways he could get Hermione her key back.

Damien, reading the look, came over and patted his shoulder.

"Let's just stick to clearing one person's name at a time." he said.

xxx

Breakfast was as always, noisy, crowded and enjoyable. Harry talked away with his mum as he munched his way through a stack of pancakes. He would finish a small pile and Lily would promptly stack another half dozen pancakes on his plate.

Harry groaned when this happened for the third time.

"I'm going to burst!" he said holding onto his stomach.

"Rubbish! You're a growing kid! Here have some honey." She said, drizzling a good amount onto his stack.

Harry eyed her before hiding a giggle.

"What?" she asked perplexed.

"I just thought about something." He said, starting on his pile.

"And?" she asked.

"Well, I just had a…mental image of sorts…of me and Damien, roughly the size of Dudley." He smiled at the look on Lily's face.

"How is that funny?" she asked.

"It's not. I was just imaging the look on your face, pretty similar to the look you're wearing just now."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him but that only made Harry laugh harder. At last she gave in and smiled.

"I love your laugh." she whispered to him, running a hand lovingly through his locks.

As always, Harry blushed a little at the attention but he didn't pull away, much to Lily's relief.

The flock of owls swept into the hall, showering the students with small droplets of rain they carried in with them. Harry watched as a small white and blue owl flew down to Damien. He smiled when the boy gave her immediate attention, stroking her head and offering her water, even before removing the letter tied to her foot. Harry was glad Damien liked Neelam. He had wanted to get something special for the boy's fifteenth birthday, just like Hagrid had got him the best eleventh birthday present.

The thought of Hagrid made his heart ache again so he quickly pushed that memory away. He watched as Damien untied the letter and opened it quickly. His face fell after he read it and he scrunched up the letter, visibly annoyed.

Harry wondered who the letter was from and what it said to upset Damien. He never got a chance to ask until both were walking to their first class.

"Who was the letter from today?" Harry whispered.

"Uncle Siri" Damien replied, still angry. "I wrote to him yesterday. I just thought of a way we could find out more about what happened to…our big friend." Damien said, in case their conversation was being listened to by their fellow Gryffindors. "I asked him if he could give us his memory, the one for the day _it_ happened. I knew I couldn't ask anyone else. Dad would never give it to us, neither would Uncle Remus. Tonks might be okay but I figured Uncle Sirius already knows about us knowing and it would make sense for him to help us." He shook his head. "But he refused."

Harry was surprised.

"Really?"

Damien nodded.

"He wrote back saying he didn't think that was a good idea and that he had already done enough by getting us that file. He said that if dad doesn't want us knowing more about what happened then we shouldn't push it. He's not willing to help."

Harry was sorely disappointed. He had figured Sirius would have given them the memory. The fact that he wasn't willing to, made Harry even more curious.

"So what now?" he asked.

Damien trudged along, hazel eyes filled with determination.

"We're getting that memory. If not one way, then another."

xxx

Harry followed Damien as he led the way through the crowd of people. He kept his head down and avoided looking at anyone, but that didn't stop others from staring at him. He walked past the fountain with the golden statues and barely gave it another glance. He was too nervous.

"You sure this will work?" he asked Damien who was looking very much at ease.

"No, but it's worth a try." He answered back.

Harry followed, still debating the chances of this plan succeeding. In all honesty, how likely was it that they would be able to walk into the Ministry of Magic, go to a high security department, search through the database of verified memories and be able to find the one that was submitted for Hagrid's death?

"Don't you think there's a chance there is no memory submitted? I mean, they are all acting like Hagrid is in Romania, working with Dragons." Harry asked, feeling his insides twist. How he wished that was the truth.

"I'm sure there must be something. It says in his file that various memories of Aurors present at the scene were submitted as proof along with the report. They would have to keep some record of the truth." Damien said.

They arrived at the front desk, handing in their wands and stating their reason for the weekend visit.

"We're here to see Auror Sirius Black." Damien said, smiling cheerfully at the sour looking wizard.

The man looked at Harry and made a face.

"Go on" he grudgingly said.

Harry hurried past with Damien, not looking back at the security guard. They went to the elevator and Damien pushed the right button.

"How did you know Sirius was working this weekend?" Harry asked as the elevator sprang to life and carried them upwards as well as backwards.

"He said so in his letter. It was his reason for not coming to see us at Hogwarts." Damien replied.

"What if he sees us here?" Harry asked.

Damien shrugged.

"So what if he does?"

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"You don't think he'll tell dad he saw us at the Ministry when dad thinks we're hanging out with Draco in Hogsmeade?"

Damien smirked.

"Stop worrying, we're not going to bump into Uncle Siri. We're going in the opposite direction to his office."

Harry was about to speak but the clang of the elevator coming to a halt, stopped him. Damien quickly walked out and continued walking down a narrow corridor, one that seemed to get narrower the further they walked.

"Do you know exactly where it is we have to go?" Harry asked as he tried to ignore how low the ceiling was to him now.

"Sort off; I've never come here before." Damien replied.

"So how do you know where to go?" Harry asked, the top of his head brushing the ceiling and the walls just touching his shoulders.

"Instinct" Damien replied. Then turning to grin at him he added, "And a map." He pulled out a small colourful cube. At a closer look, Harry realised it was a 3-D version of the Ministry of Magic.

"Where did you get this from?" Harry asked, forgetting the confining space he was currently in.

"Dad's closet, I took it during summer." At Harry's questioning look, he added, "I was bored."

The continued walking down the increasingly claustrophobic corridor, Harry had to hunch his shoulders now and even Damien, who was shorter than him, was finding it hard to walk properly.

"Seriously! What is this?" Harry asked as he was forced to walk by twisting to the side and shuffling his feet along."

"It's to stop people from wondering over here." Damien answered, struggling forward.

Finally they turned around a corner and found a single wooden door. Both boys darted towards it, as fast as they could, in the available space.

"Thank Merlin! I thought we were going to have to crawl soon." Damien said.

"Yeah, but um…how do we get in?" Harry asked, seeing the flaw in Damien's wonderful plan.

"I brought a map," Damien said, holding it out. "You could have brought a key."

Harry ignored the joke.

"Damy, we're basically wedged in here, think of something!"

"Okay, Okay!" he answered. He stood motionless for a moment. "Nope, nothing comes to mind."

Harry had no way of squeezing past him to face the door. There was no room to allow any sort of movement, they couldn't even turn around. If they had to retreat, they would have to walk backwards.

"Great!" Harry groaned.

He kicked out in frustration and his foot banged against the wooden panelling of the left wall. A loud click was heard before the door swung open, granting access.

Harry stared at the entrance, not believing his eyes.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Damien asked.

"Not sure." Harry managed, recovering from the surprise.

Both boys darted forwards, eager to get to their destination. The room they entered was dark and very large. The boys could hear their footsteps echoing loudly against the stone floor. A chilly breeze swept at them, making them shudder.

"We're underground, why is there a draught?" Damien asked.

"Don't know." Harry answered, distracted by the large hall.

Damien led the way, checking his map for which way to go.

"Which department are we headed for?" Harry asked, peering from behind him.

"Well, it said in Hagrid's file that various Aurors had given their memories of the incident that led them to attack Hagrid. They wouldn't be stored in a department but more like…a storage safe." Damien explained. "My guess is that it will be here, the storage point for the Department of Law Enforcement. They store all sorts of things here."

Harry saw that there were numerous doors lined against the far wall. Damien headed for the one that was on the furthest right. Harry was surprised when the handle clicked open under Damien's hand.

"That was easy." he murmured as he walked into the room behind Damien.

The sharp light hit Harry's eyes and he reflexively shut them. He felt a strange sensation sweep over him, almost like he was dissolving. He felt like he was shrinking, his hands and feet tingled and he felt like icy cold water had been poured over him.

The light faded and Harry opened his eyes, only to find Damien staring at him in horror. Before he could ask what was wrong, he realised it himself. The fact that he could no longer see Damien clearly was a dead giveaway.

He looked down at himself, noting the clothes he now wore were a size or two too big.

"Oh God!" Damien whispered. "Your glamour charm! It's gone!"

Harry blinked up at the blurry image of Damien.

"That's what that bright light was; it was a spell to reveal charms and catch any impostors."

"Good observation," a voice called out, making both boys look round with panic. "Mr Potter, isn't it?" Auror Blake asked with a large grin.

---

_**Canon World**_

The gathered students in the Great Hall didn't know what had happened but they were astute enough to pick up that whatever it was, it was really bad. Judging by the panicked look McGonagall gave the Slytherin table and the furious muttering of Snape, they were certain that the Slytherins were to blame.

Harry's eyes quickly scanned the table, checking only for one familiar face. Draco's suspicion filled eyes met with Harry's and both boys just stared at one another for a few seconds before dropping their gaze.

"How do you know someone is missing?" Hermione asked Harry.

"I can read McGonagall's expression." Harry answered distractedly, watching the Transfiguration Professor accompany the Potions Master towards the exit doors.

"You can!?" Ron asked looking shocked. "Is that a special power or can you teach that to us as well?" he asked in a low whisper.

Harry turned to look incredulously at Ron.

"It's not a special power! I just meant I can tell from her expression." he reiterated.

"Oh, right." Ron muttered, looking both embarrassed and disappointed.

Shaking his head, Harry turned back to see the majority of the staff leaving the Great Hall, following McGonagall and Snape without providing any sort of explanation to the curious students. The only staff members left behind was Professor Sinistra, Professor Hooch, Professor Trelawney and Professor Umbridge. The witch clad in her usual fluffy pink cardigan, gave her fellow Professor's a sharp look before getting up and quickly leaving the Hall, locking the door behind her.

"I wonder what they're going to do?" Hermione said, biting her lip in worry.

"They'll probably search the school for the missing students and bring them back here. Oh, I hope McGonagall takes off a hundred points each for them not turning up to the Great Hall after the alarm sounded." Ron said, gleefully.

Hermione threw him a disapproving glare.

"It may not even be their fault, Ronald!" she whispered. "They could be in trouble."

Ron shrugged.

"They're Slytherin, they can handle trouble. Mostly because they are trouble." At Harry's amused look he quickly added. "No offence."

"None taken." Harry assured.

"Still, if they were inside the school, they would have come here at the sound of the alarm. They wouldn't endanger themselves." Hermione thought out loud. "What if they are outside? What if they can't get into the school because Hogwarts has sealed itself shut?" she asked, a note of panic in her voice.

"Then McGonagall will let them in, just relax Hermione." Ron said.

Hermione shook her head.

"She can't. I read in Hogwarts, a history that in the rare event the school is in danger and the alarm is set off, the school shuts itself down and no one can reopen it, no one except the Headmaster."

Harry understood now, the reason behind Hermione's panic.

"He's not here, is he?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"I didn't see Professor Dumbledore at breakfast and he wasn't here when the alarm went off." She said.

"I'm sure he's reachable. McGonagall will probably know how to get him here. Besides, the students are probably hiding somewhere inside the school. Everything will be fine." Ron said, but he didn't sound so sure himself.

Harry looked around at the three Professors; they were deep in discussion themselves, not paying the students any notice. They didn't have to; the doers were locked so none of the students could leave.

Slowly the nervous whisperings of the Great Hall got louder and louder. Everyone was deep in discussion about the attempted attack; what was it that was attacking the school? Was the staff at Hogwarts capable of protecting the school and its students? Where was the rest of the staff right now?

Harry kept quiet, glancing every now and again at the staff table to see the three occupants still in discussion their expressions looking grim. He stole a few glances at the Slytherin table to see Draco looking in his direction too.

Parvati and Lavender suddenly blocked Harry's view as they sat down opposite him.

"Did you hear about the first year Slytherins?" Lavender asked.

Without waiting for an answer, Parvati jumped in.

"They're missing!" she whispered.

Hermione looked at the two girls with surprise.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"Susie Love, from first year Ravenclaw, just whispered to us that they had Herbology with first year Slytherins first period. They had made it back inside the castle for second period before the alarm went off. Most of the first year Slytherins made it back in time but this group of ten students stayed behind and now are probably trapped outside." Parvati explained.

"She said something about this group of ten Slytherins being pranksters. They must have stayed back after class to set up a joke." Lavender added.

Harry could see quite a few students approaching other house tables and whispering fretfully about the trapped first year Slytherins. His eyes shifted to Draco again to see him sitting quietly with his head lowered, no sign of his sneer or arrogant smirk.

The two girls got up and moved to the other end of the Gryffindor table, to spread the news.

"What's going to happen now?" Ron asked, sounding worried.

"They'll be killed, if no one gets to them in time." Harry answered.

Hermione was wringing her hands restlessly. "Their only hope is Professor Dumbledore. If he gets back in time he can help them."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, go Headmaster!" he sarcastically said.

"Not now, Harry. This is serious." Hermione muttered.

"I know, and at a time like this, you continue to make ridiculous jokes." Harry returned.

"Who else can help them?! Professor Dumbledore is the only one who can open the school and get the Slytherins back inside!" Hermione hissed angrily.

Harry didn't say anything right away. He looked away and glanced back at the Slytherin table, noting Draco's eyes staring curiously at him. Harry looked away and pulled up his bag.

"Take out your books." Harry whispered.

"What?" Hermione asked thrown by Harry's abrupt change of topic.

"Just do what I'm doing." Harry whispered as he purposefully took out his books from his bag and laid them on the table. Ron and Hermione copied him, looking confusedly at Harry.

"Pretend you're doing your work." He whispered to them.

The surrounding Gryffindors quickly looked away from the trio, afraid that Hermione might dupe them also into doing their work.

"Cover me." Harry whispered as he knocked over one of his charms textbooks.

"What are you doing?!" Hermione demanded as quietly as she could.

Harry didn't respond as he disappeared under the table to retrieve the book. He glanced up at Hermione and Ron's peering faces and gave them a smile and a wink, before disapparating.

Ron and Hermione quickly looked up, afraid that others might follow their gaze and realise that Harry was no longer under the table. They looked at their books, and pretended to continue working.

Hermione shifted nervously, glancing at the Professors and the surrounding students.

"This can't end well." Ron whispered.

Hermione nodded, agreeing whole heartedly.

xxx

Harry appeared inside his dorm room, next to his bed. He quickly opened his trunk and took out the folded piece of parchment. He tapped it with his wand and said the magic words.

"I swear that I'm up to no good."

He watched as the spidery lines formed the map, detailing the occupants of the castle. His eyes searched for the Headmaster's name but he couldn't see it anywhere. A quick scan also told him that the missing Slytherin students were in fact not in the castle.

"Better and better!" Harry muttered angrily; as he opened the map further to search the grounds. There he saw the small clutter of dots, inside Greenhouse three. There were about ten dots, all clambered together so their names were indistinguishable. Outside the greenhouse Harry saw some twenty red dots, all pacing the outside of the greenhouse.

Harry didn't have any way of figuring out what these red dots could be. They couldn't be human, that much Harry knew and they didn't have names, as the map would have shown their identities.

So some ten students were trapped outside in the greenhouse and had no way of getting to safety as the school was sealed shut and couldn't be opened since the Headmaster was not here and only he was able to command the school to open. 'Bloody perfect!' Harry thought to himself.

Resisting the urge to yell at something, Harry rolled up the map and put it back into his trunk. With a quiet pop, he disapparated, this time he arrived in the main corridor, just outside the Great Hall.

He set off towards the exit, arguing furiously with himself. What was he doing? If he rescued the Slytherin students from whatever it was trying to kill them, he would be revealing himself to everyone. There was no way the students would keep quiet about who helped them. Since the school being sealed shut, if he managed to manipulate the security wards and open the school so the students could get inside, he was risking exposure to his unique powers. But despite this, Harry found he couldn't stop himself from trying to help. He couldn't sit back, for fear of revealing himself, and let ten children be killed. They were only eleven years old, they couldn't defend themselves.

These thoughts led Harry to the front door. He stood before the enormous doors with countless bolts and locks sealing them shut. Harry reached out with his magic, taking careful note of the wards holding the locks and bolts in place. It was much more complicated than he had thought. He started working on them, concentrating all of his attention on the security wards. His green eyes darkened without him being aware. He silently worked on neutralising the magic, preparing to open the sealed school.

xxx

"Excuse me, but can I borrow them, just for a moment? Thanks." Ron said to the group before dragging his set of twin brothers and Lee from their end of the Gryffindor table to where Harry was sitting.

"What's going on?" Fred asked.

"Meeting" Ron whispered, as the twin sat opposite Neville and Ginny.

Hermione had ushered the rest of the DA members towards the Gryffindor table and Ron finished by calling over Justin and Luna. Only the Gryffindors were sitting down, the rest were gathered around. It was not in practise for other house members to sit at other house tables.

Just as Hermione was about to speak a nosy looking Hufflepuff came and stood next to Luna.

"No, no, I don't think so." Ron said, waving her away.

The girl huffed at him, muttered something about 'rude Gryffindors' and walked away. Luna turned and waved at her, smiling dreamily.

"Okay, here's the thing," Hermione started taking a deep breath.

"Um, wait, where's Harry?" Cho asked noticing his absence.

"He's already left," Hermione answered, keeping her voice as steady as she could. "He used his invisibility cloak and sneaked out."

"Harry has an invisibility cloak? Cool!" Michael exclaimed.

"How did he get out? The doors were locked." Justin asked.

"Ever heard of Alohomora?" George asked sarcastically.

"Where did he go?" Ginny asked.

"That's what I was going to talk about," Hermione tried again. "You've all heard about the first year Slytherins being trapped outside?" She got head nods in response. "Well, Harry's gone to try and help them and I think we should do something to help as well." She started nervously. "We've had a lot of training and I think if all of us come together, we can help get them inside to safety."

"How? How can we help them? We can't leave the Hall, let alone the school." Angelina whispered.

"We can figure out a way." Ron said.

"How? I mean, the school is sealed. We can't open it." Ernie said. "Locked doors are one thing, security wards are a totally different story."

"Plus, shouldn't we let Professor McGonagall deal with this? I mean, we don't even know what's out there," Padma said, clearly reluctant to leave the safety of the hall. "How can we help if we can't fight against whatever it is that is out there? I think it's better to let the Professors help the first years."

"They can't, they have the rest of the school to watch over. They can't risk their lives." Hermione answered.

"I'm not sure I want to risk my life either. Padma is right; we don't know what is out there." Lavender said, suppressing a shiver.

"Oh, stop being a wimp, Brown!" Ernie said.

"Excuse me?! I'm a Gryffindor, we're known for our courage!" Lavender said, glaring at the Hufflepuff boy.

"How about showing some, eh?" Fred said to her.

Lavender opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Hermione cut across her.

"We don't have a lot of time. We have ten terrified eleven year olds that could be killed at any time. Let's decide if we're going to help or not quickly!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself." George said with a small bow to Hermione.

"It's not that I don't want to help," Michel started, looking around at Hermione and Ron, "but in all honesty, what can we do? All we've learnt is how to defend. We don't know how to counterattack."

"All we need to do is defend." Hermione said.

The DA members looked amongst each other, silently deciding what they should do.

"Okay, I'm in." Angelina said, still looking doubtful that they would be leaving the hall.

"Me too." Justin agreed.

"Can't hold me back." Ginny grinned.

The others agreed, some were noticeably reluctant but went along with the majority.

"Let's do this!" Lee said excitedly.

"Question, just how _do_ we do this?" Cho asked, looking around at everyone.

Ron looked pointedly at his brothers.

"Time to prank like you've never before." he said.

xxx

Harry had just started working on the last set of spells to unlock the doors when he felt it, the subtle change in the air and the faint whoosh of a spell coming in his direction. His senses, already on high alert, warned him just in time to twist out of the way. He saw the flash of light miss him and zoom past to hit the door. He turned around, wand already in his hand.

The first thing he noticed was the wand pointed at him. His eyes fixed on his opponent's face and he felt the anger inside him bubble furiously.

"You have really bad timing, Snape." He hissed.

Snape levelled his wand at Harry and moved a few steps nearer.

"Finally given up on pretence, I see." He said in his low voice. "I have to say I'm glad. You're poor performance on imitating Potter was unbearable." He looked behind Harry at the enormous doors; most of the locks were already opened. He looked back at Harry with a sneer. "Planning on letting the beasts come inside, were you?"

"Actually, I was intending on going outside, you know, to help _your_ house students." Harry answered tightly. There was no point in pretending now; Snape had seen him unlocking the security wards. His cover was blown.

"Ah, still playing the part of the saviour. How honourable." He remarked.

"You want to hurry this up, Snape? I don't have a lot of time." Harry bit back.

"You don't have any time at all." He motioned for Harry to drop his wand.

"Not a chance, _Professor_." Harry responded, his usual growl in his voice.

No sooner had the words left his mouth that Snape fired another curse at him, the same as the first. Harry blocked it effortlessly. Snape was quick and fired three sets of curses at Harry, intending to incapacitate him. Harry blocked them by instinct, his blue shield springing to life and engulfing the curses. Snape was visibly thrown. He stepped back and momentarily, a look of fear filled his eyes. He quickly masked it and glared at Harry.

Harry brought the shield down and for a moment the two just stared at each other.

"Feel better?" Harry mocked. "I know you've been dying to do that."

Snape moved faster than Harry expected, never having duelled him before. Snape reached the other side of the hall whilst firing another two sets of 'body bind' and 'Stupefy' curses at him. Harry moved too, preferring to physically move out of the path of the curse so he could fire his own curses at Snape.

The Potions master blocked Harry's curses but his expression changed to one of worry when he felt the power behind the curses. They were enough to make him stumble backwards. Harry used that initial surprise to his advantage and threw a 'Stupefy' at him, which Snape just narrowly avoided.

But when Harry suddenly made a slashing motion with his free hand, Snape felt a crushing force hit him in the chest and knock him of his feet. He hit the ground with a dull thud and felt his vision blur momentarily. Faster than Snape thought possible, Harry was standing over him, already having disarmed him. Snape sat up, spitting with anger as he eyed his wand in Harry's hand.

"You won't get away with this!" he told the boy. "You're deceit is fooling no one!"

Harry stared calmly at him.

"No one is going to believe you." He stated. "It's your word against mine."

Snape glared hatefully at Harry.

"I have one other thing!" he hissed.

It happened very suddenly and so quickly that Harry barely had any chance to prepare himself. Not that he could have stopped it in any case, Occulmency was never his strong point.

Snape easily entered Harry's mind. Even without a wand, he was able to perform Legimens perfectly. By the time Harry reacted and feebly tried to block his mind, it was too late. Snape had seen what Harry was trying to keep hidden. Brief but clear flashes of Harry's past came blindingly fast. Snape managed to forcefully slow down a memory of a young Harry standing before a very human looking Voldemort. The red eyed wizard put a hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled, 'Kill him.' he instructed. The young Harry nodded, without any hint of fear. 'Yes, father,' was his response.

Snape was suddenly thrown backwards so hard he hit his head on the marble floors of the main corridor. Dazed and in pain, Snape blinked up to see Harry towering over him. But there was something very different about this Harry. Snape didn't notice what it was until Harry had lifted him from the front of his robes and pinned him painfully against the rough stone wall.

"Never try that again!" Harry thundered.

Snape looked at the young face twisted in rage. The usual green eyes were now black, deep, bottomless black. Fear surged in Snape as he realised the full extent of what he had stumbled across.

"You…you _are_ his son." he choked out, still fighting the belief.

The grip on him tightened so much so that Snape was sure it was hurting Harry as much as it was hurting him. Suddenly Harry let go of him, making Snape fall back on the ground.

He looked up to see Harry pointing his wand at him. Snape leaned back, trying to catch his breath.

"You can kill me," Snape managed to say breathlessly, "but you won't win."

Harry's wand trembled slightly but he didn't shift his aim.

"If I wanted you dead, you would be already." Harry whispered to him, his voice showing how much he was resisting the urge to kill.

Snape never got a chance, he moved trying to dodge the curse but Harry's curse hit him nevertheless.

"Obliviate!" Harry hissed and Snape's world went black.

xxx

It only took half of the supply the troublesome trio had stashed in their pockets and bags for the plan to work. One moment, the Great Hall was filled with students and the next, it was clouded with storms of thick grey smoke, smelling like sulphur.

Pandemonium broke out as most students thought they were being attacked by whatever it was threatening the school. They got up from their seats, yelling and shouting and started running towards the staff table in panic. Loud yells were punctuated by violent coughing and sounds of gagging. The three Professors were shooting out sparks from their wands to try and calm everyone down but they were hardly noticed because of the foul smelling fog that filled the hall.

In the midst of this, twenty six students gathered in front of the door. They were in the opposite direction from the rest of the school. Hermione quickly muttered the spell to unlock the door. It clicked open. She held the door open only marginally and got the students to slip quickly past and gather in the main corridor.

Hermione and Ron cast a last glance at the panic filled hall before closing the door and silently locking it again. They turned around to face the DA members, taking in the looks of excitement on some and plain fear on others.

"What now?" Angelina asked.

"Now, we go and have some fun." Lee answered, pulling out his wand.

"Come on, we have to hurry." Hermione said as she started leading the way down the main corridor, heading towards the exit doors.

xxx

Harry kicked at Snape's legs, forcing them to bend unnaturally at an angle before he closed the door to the closet. He dropped the Potion Master's wand in the plant pot next to the closet and walked away, leaving the unconscious Professor to wake up in a closet and wonder how he got there. Harry had obliviated Snape, ensuring the last ten minutes were now wiped from his memory.

Harry had to forcefully calm himself down. He had no time to throw temper tantrums; he still had ten kids whose lives he had to save. He moved back to the main doors and quickly worked on unlocking the final set of wards. He had to ensure the doors were unlocked before he apparated outside to help the Slytherins. Just as the final lock slid away from its bolt, Harry heard another sound. His wand was already in his hand when he realised that the sound he was hearing was the unmistakable sound of numerous footsteps coming his way. He caught the sound of Hermione's voice, urging others to 'hurry up'.

He saw that he was right as moments later, Hermione turned the corner and led a large group of students towards him. Harry watched as all twenty six members of the DA approached him, smiling at him.

"We're here!" Angelina said, sounding more surprised than anything.

Harry didn't respond but his icy green eyes found Hermione and fixed on her. She smiled nervously at him before hurrying towards him. Ron followed, telling the others to stay put next to the doors.

"What are you doing?!" Harry asked as soon as Hermione and Ron pulled him away from the rest of the DA.

"We couldn't let you go out by yourself!" Hermione said.

"So you decided to bring even more people who could get hurt?" Harry asked angrily.

"We know a little now about defence and I thought this might be a good time to put that knowledge to use." Hermione explained.

"Yeah, plus you can't go out by yourself. You need us." Ron added.

"No, I don't." Harry said through clenched teeth, as quietly as he could, as not to attract the others. "I don't need anyone's help. I am more than capable of handling this on my own."

"Think about it!" Hermione snapped. "If you go out on your own and help the first years, do you really think that wouldn't raise suspicion? You're cover will be blown and your truth eventually revealed!" She lowered his voice and continued, "But if a group of twenty seven students go out and help the first years, it doesn't raise suspicion on you. It doesn't pinpoint at you. The blame will fall on all of us, not just you. It's more believable that a group of students managed to fight off whatever it is that's out there, than just you by yourself."

Harry didn't say anything but stared at Hermione, his mouth firmly closed. Ron looked between the two and then nodded at Hermione.

"What she said." He agreed.

Harry suddenly realised something and a small smile spread on his face.

"Okay, let's do this." he said.

Hermione looked taken aback.

"Really? I didn't think you would give in so soon." she admitted.

"You're right, if we do this as a group, it'll help keep my cover." He smiled at her. "Thanks, Hermione."

Hermione looked a little suspicious at Harry's sudden change in mood but she didn't question it. She and Ron turned to join the rest of the students gathered next to the doors, discussing how the sealed doors had suddenly been unlocked.

Harry stayed where he was for a moment. Hermione was right. There was no way what he was doing would be kept a secret. This way, he wasn't the only one student found to be outside helping save the first year Slytherins. But that wasn't the only reason Harry agreed to Hermione's plan. It was the more to do with how this would affect one particular individual, Albus Dumbledore. Harry smiled to himself as he imagined the look on Dumbledore's face when he found out what his students had slipped out and done. Of course he wasn't planning on letting the members of the DA actually _do_ anything. There was no way the DA students were ready to fight.

But with this little stunt, the DA would finally be out in the open and if the school board along with the Ministry found out that a group of underage students faced extreme danger in order to help fellow students while the prestigious Headmaster was nowhere to be seen, well, they wouldn't be very happy. Harry mentally grinned at all the things Dumbledore would have to deal with; an illegitimate group of students calling themselves 'Dumbledore's Army', underage students fighting with dangerous creatures and students easily walking out of the school when strong wards were 'supposed' to keep them inside and safe. No one had to know that Harry had unlocked them. After all, who would believe that a fifth year student could unlock such powerful wards? They would rather believe that the wards were not strong enough. It would be the end of Dumbledore's days as Headmaster that was for sure.

With these thoughts in mind, Harry moved towards the exit, walking through the crowd of students and pushing the doors open. He led the other students outside, to face the unknown enemy.

xxx

"The first years are trapped in greenhouse three." Harry told the group as they walked towards the grounds reserved for Herbology.

"How do you know that?" Justin asked.

"I checked my map." Harry answered.

At the numerous confused expressions, Fred and George quietly explained what 'the map' was and how it worked.

"What's the plan?" Lee asked, looking excited.

"To go and see what it is we're up against and then plan accordingly." Harry answered, leading them towards a rocky hill, just overlooking the greenhouses.

The DA followed Harry and began climbing the steep hill. They settled at the top, crouching to stay hidden and peeked over the edge to the greenhouses below. They saw instantly what it was they were out here to fight.

Beasts. That was the first thing that entered everyone's mind. The creatures clawing and howling at the glass, desperate to get to the frightened children inside, could only be described as ferocious looking beasts. At first glance, they bared a resemblance to dogs but they were unnaturally big. They were covered in thick black fur and had strange glowing red eyes that could be seen even from a distance. They were howling and gnashing their sharp teeth at the glass, trying to break their way in.

They had surrounded the greenhouse from all around. Some were digging with their sharp claws at the ground trying to tunnel their way inside, others were trying to smash the glass by throwing their weight against the panes.

Harry could just make out a small group of students, Slytherin scarves still around their necks, gathered in the middle of the greenhouse. Their terrified shouts and yells for help could be heard from where the DA members were watching.

"What are they?" Parvati asked, her whisper finally breaking the horrified silence.

"Hellhounds"

Harry turned to look at Hermione as she answered the question.

"I didn't know Hellhounds looked, like that." Dean commented, definite fear in his voice.

A loud snap followed by an increase in the first years screams made everyone look around at the scene. One of the panes of glass had fallen out, the glass still intact, no doubt due to unbreakable charms. The gap was too small for the Hellhound to crawl through but that didn't stop the animal from trying. As Harry carefully observed the greenhouse he saw numerous gaps with glass panes missing.

"So, what do we do now?" Colin asked, fear and uncertainty in his voice.

Harry turned back to look at the DA members.

"Now, it's time to play." He smirked.

xxx

Seven members of the DA made their way slowly down the rocky path, keeping their wands in tight fists and their eyes on the targets in front of them. Harry led the six students; Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Angelina, Dean and Lee. Harry chose them since they were the strongest in the DA. He had briefed them on what they had to do, if they stuck to his instructions, they would be just fine.

"Remember, Hellhounds are creatures forged from the very depths of hell itself. Using any fire based spells against them will only fuel their already super strength. They have incredible speed so never take your eyes off them." Harry continued to tell them as they walked in a tight group.

They nodded in response, too nervous to say anything. As soon as they came within ten yards of the greenhouse, the Hellhounds stopped their attack. The beasts sniffed the air, letting out piercing howls to each other. The Hellhounds turned to face the oncoming students.

Harry stopped making the other six behind him stop also. The Hellhounds gathered together, forming a pack. There were twenty Hellhounds in total, all with sharp claws and sharper teeth. The one Hellhound at the front pulled back his lips, showing the glistening teeth with a fear-provoking growl. It let out a series of sharp barks, making Hermione and Angelina jump with fright.

Without any other warning, all twenty Hellhounds started towards them. Their speed was phenomenal and before the six could aim their wands at the large group of beasts, they were already at their heels.

Harry pointed at the ground with his wand, pulling an invisible line between himself and the Hellhounds. He pulled his wand upwards in a jerking motion and all six felt the ground shudder as if Harry had pulled something out from the ground itself. The action threw the Hellhounds a few feet away from Harry, almost as if Harry had pulled the ground from underneath their paws and sent them reeling backwards.

The animals landed on all fours a few feet away. They snarled at Harry and shot towards him again. This time, the six were ready and joined in with Harry, attacking the animals.

Ginny and Angelina threw full body binds on two of the Hellhounds, successfully binding them. Ron and Hermione focused on the two Hellhounds that were the closest and stupefied them. Dean and Lee did the same, successfully knocking another two to the ground.

Harry did things a little differently. He hit a Hellhound with a levitation spell before swinging the beast rather forcefully into the nearest tree trunk, killing it instantly. Hermione winced as the animal hit the trunk with a sickening crunch and fell to the ground.

The seven DA members stayed together, forming a tight circle so they could defend against the furious attack by the remaining thirteen Hellhounds. Like Harry had instructed, the six DA members used either 'confringo' to blast the beasts away if they got too close or they used 'Impedimenta' to slow down the Hellhounds attack before casting 'stupefy'. It was working; they were managing to defend themselves against the attack and even knocking a few out with their spells. The only problem was that the Hellhounds were fast and dodged the spells rather easily.

Slowly, like Harry had instructed, the group started moving away from the greenhouse, leading the animals away from the trapped children. Harry kicked out at a Hellhound that had gotten too close before aiming his wand in the air, shooting out bright sparks. The remaining twenty members of the DA saw the signal and moved quickly from their hiding place, from behind the rocky hill. They scrambled their way towards the greenhouse, Fred and George at the forefront leading the rest. Each Slytherin student was protected by two DA members. Each pair stood on either side of a terrified eleven year old.

With their wands ready, the twenty DA members led the first years out and as quick as they could, they headed for the school. One Hellhound broke away from the attack on Harry and the other six when he sniffed the air and found the scent of the other thirty students. Barking and howling, he made for the larger group, bring another three with him.

Harry and Lee quickly aimed at them, trying to stop them from reaching the others. Harry used his wandless magic to knock two Hellhounds into each other while his levitation charm lifted another Hellhound and smashed him into a tree trunk. Lee missed in his aim a few times before his stupefy finally hit the fourth and last Hellhound.

The thirty students disappeared over the hill and Harry knew in a matter of minutes, they would enter the school, safe and in one piece. He shared a look with a sweaty faced but smiling Hermione. It worked, they're plan had worked and the first year students were safe.

Harry turned his attention back to the remaining eight Hellhounds. They were still trying to get to them, gnashing their teeth menacingly and barking in rage. Harry smirked as he sent another beast smashing to the ground and hit another approaching one with a spell.

Ginny and Dean had locked arms together, an attempt to stay together. Ginny jumped as a Hellhound darted towards her, his sharp teeth just missing her leg. She blasted him away while Dean knocked out another one that was coming for her.

"Thanks!" she breathed.

"I can't believe we've done it!" Dean yelled, excited at how well their plan had worked. There were no more Hellhounds left.

"Watch out!" Ginny yelled, ducking and dragging Dean with her.

Out of nowhere, a Hellhound had jumped towards the group, aiming at Dean. Ginny's yell had warned the others too and they all managed to avoid colliding with the enraged animal. The Hellhound landed on all fours and turned around to growl at them.

"Oh my…!" Hermione gasped when she got a good look at the animal.

This Hellhound was different to the others. It had the same black fur and glowing red eyes, but this one was much, much larger than the others. It was at least five foot tall and seemed much more menacing than the others.

The Hellhound looked at each student, growling the entire time but didn't make any move towards them. When he looked at Harry, his eyes locked to his. A very low and cruel chuckling sound filled the air and it took the seven students a moment to realise where it was coming from.

"Bloody hell!" Ron whispered, staring at the Hellhound, clearly frightened.

"It must be the leader of the Hellhounds. They can speak in all tongues." Hermione informed them with a whisper.

The Hellhound ignored the rest and continued to stare at Harry.

"You've run out of time." the voice that left the beast was low and guttural but his words were clear to understand.

Without attacking anyone, the large Hellhound turned and dashed away from them, heading for the Forbidden Forest.

Harry darted after it, wand clutched in his hand.

"Harry!?" Hermione yelled after him.

"Go back to the castle. I've got this one!" Harry yelled back before disappearing into the dark forest.

Harry ran after the beast, ears straining to pick up any sound that may suggest which direction the leader Hellhound had headed in.

He came to a stop when he couldn't figure out where the animal had gone. He was already deep into the forest, the afternoon sun blocked out by the dense forest trees. Harry stayed as still as he could, an effort to pick up any sign. Suddenly Harry saw a black blur heading right at him. He jumped out of the way but felt a searing pain tear its way down his left shoulder. He hadn't moved in time. He grabbed at his painful shoulder, noting the smell of coppery blood before his fingers could be drenched in his blood.

He looked up at the pair of glowing red eyes and again the sound of a dark chuckle filled the air. Harry aimed his wand at the Hellhound.

"You won't be laughing for long." Harry spat at him.

The Hellhound moved, only a few inches to the right so Harry could see it a little better in a stray ray of light filtered through the trees. Harry saw the animal tilt its enormous head, ears twitching to pick up any sound, as it studied him.

"You can cause me no harm, human." It spoke again.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Harry threatened again.

The beast chuckled again.

"Then why do you not strike against me?" it asked.

Harry slowly lowered his wand, eyes smouldering with anger.

"He sent you, didn't he?" Harry asked quietly.

The Hellhound lowered its head.

"The Dark Lord wanted a message delivered to you. Your defiance against him could not go unpunished." It spoke again in its unsettling low voice.

Harry laughed this time, just as darkly as the Hellhound.

"Right, so I don't do as Voldemort wants and he does what? He sends a pack of dogs after me as a punishment?" Harry figured out the Hellhounds were sent by Voldemort the moment the leader Hellhound spoke. '_You've run out of time._' Voldemort had sent the Hellhounds after Harry since he missed the deadline for collecting the prophecy.

The Hellhound didn't seem to be insulted by Harry. Its large ears twitched again and the animal revealed its glistening sharp teeth, in a feral sort of grin.

"We're not the punishment," he moved his head a fraction to his right. "He is."

Harry didn't understand who the beast was referring to, not until a few moments later when he heard his name being yelled from somewhere near. Harry recognised the voice instantly. Horrified, he turned back to face the leader Hellhound, only to find he was gone.

xxx

Harry didn't have much time to recover as the next moment he heard his name being yelled much more loudly than before. Turning towards the voice, Harry saw the pale, worried face of his Godfather.

"Harry! Oh thank God!" Sirius pushed his way past the thick branches obscuring his path and ran to Harry, embracing him quickly. Harry pulled away, still in shock.

"What are you doing here?!" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore got an anonymous message, about the Hellhounds. It said students were missing, you, you were amongst them." Sirius could hardly speak; he was so out of breath.

"Me? No, I wasn't!" Harry objected.

"He contacted the school, McGonagall confirmed you were missing, along with about thirty other students." Sirius said, still taking in great gasps. "She said she was trying to contact him, something about the networks being blocked."

Suddenly it all made horrible sense to Harry.

"Sirius, you have to go!" Harry said, grabbing his Godfather's arm and pulling him deeper into the forest. "Go, quickly, get past the anti-appartation wards and get out!"

"I can't go anywhere, not until I make sure you're back safely inside the castle." Sirius said, trying to get Harry to head back in the opposite direction.

"It's a trap, Sirius! A trap for you!" Harry yelled, close to panic. He understood what Voldemort had done. The Hellhounds weren't sent only to relay a message to Harry, it wasn't only to tell him that their deal was now off. They were sent so Sirius could be drawn out of hiding. That was the _real_ plan.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, confused with Harry's panic.

"Get out! You have to get out, now!" Harry told him. "For me, Sirius, go please."

Sirius opened his mouth to speak but suddenly froze. His eyes grew impossibly wide. Harry felt it too, the initial change in the air. He looked up at the trees and saw the small drops of dew on leaves freeze into droplets of ice. Small puddles left by the rain earlier in the day started to ice over. Their breath began to mist before them. Harry met Sirius' fearful gaze and gestured towards the forest, pushing him with his hands.

Sirius wordlessly transformed into his animagus form. The black dog barked once at Harry before taking off. Harry could hear other voices now, members of the Order no doubt. He assumed that Dumbledore must have been at the Headquarters with Sirius when he got the _anonymous_ tip off that his school was under attack. That was probably why Sirius came as well as other Order members.

At first Harry prepared to apparate but just as he was about to, he stopped. He looked behind him, into the dense dark forest. Gripping his wand tightly, Harry made his way deeper into the forest. He had to make sure Sirius got out before he apparated back to the castle.

Behind him, the voices of the Order members got weaker as the intense cold around him got stronger. Harry pushed himself forward, forcing himself not to give in to the despair closing around him. The one thought that kept him fighting was that he had to make sure Sirius was safe. The anger pulsing inside him gave him the needed stamina to keep going, to keep fighting against the approaching Dementors. Voldemort had sent them after Sirius. The Hellhounds were sent to draw Sirius out of hiding, to make him think Harry was in danger. Once Sirius was outside the Headquarters, the Dementors had been sent after him. This was Harry's punishment set out by Voldemort, for breaking the deal. That was what the Hellhound meant, '_We're not the punishment, he is_'.

The cold got worse to the point it felt like Harry was no longer breathing in air, but fire. He struggled to fill his lungs with air but all he felt was the burning sensation spread inside him.

Looking upwards Harry saw the reason. A sea of black was passing over his head, skimming over the tree tops. Harry watched in horror at the cloaked figures gliding overhead, looking for only one wizard. Harry struggled forward, knowing that Sirius couldn't have reached the edge of the wards yet. Pushing all the strength he had into his muscles, he struggled forwards.

He came to a clearing and stopped, falling to his knees having nothing left in him to keep him upright. Sirius was lying on the ground, a few feet away, in obvious pain. He had transformed back to his human form and was trying futilely to reach for his wand which had rolled out of his grip. He looked like a blind man searching for something, his fingers running over the forest ground, trying desperately to reach his wand. Harry looked up and saw the Dementors circling above, like vultures preparing to rip their victim apart.

Sirius cried out again and Harry realised why he couldn't see his wand. He was lost in the midst of his horrific memories. While his eyes were open, it was clear he wasn't aware of what was happening around him. He saw Sirius shudder violently and cry out again.

"No! No! Don't…don't!" he yelled.

Harry pushed himself up to his feet, his wand in hand. As he came nearer, Harry felt the scene before him change and suddenly he was standing in Hogsmeade, the final battle raging on. He saw Voldemort, he saw his parents and Damien. The killing curse hitting his younger brother, Damien falling back, never getting up again. His surroundings changed again and this time he was standing on the high cliff top, his dad covered in blood on the ground. The blast of a spell and James was pushed off the cliff top, sent to his death by his own son.

The next moment he was back in the forbidden forest, trembling violently, on his hands and knees. He looked around and realised that an absurd number of Dementors had closed around them, forming a circle around him and the fallen Sirius. Harry's focus began to shift again, another horrific memory trying to claw its way to his consciousness. Harry pushed it back as much as he could but it was to no avail. He saw Bella's lifeless body, dumped in the middle of Hogsmeade, Draco falling forward with a knife sticking out of his back.

He only became aware of his surroundings again when he felt the Dementors glide past him. Harry watched as the Dementors ignored him completely and went for Sirius. The army of Dementors closed around Sirius, shielding him so Harry could no longer see his body twitching and trembling.

Clambering to his feet, Harry wasted not another moment. With a shaky hand, Harry pointed his wand at the Dementors.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Nagini appeared instantly, the shimmering serpentine body gliding out from the end of Harry's wand. The moment she appeared, she thundered towards the Dementors, hissing and rearing her head towards them. At once the crowd of Dementors flew backwards, gliding upwards and away from the Patronus. Nagini circled Sirius' form, driving the Dementors away.

Harry watched with relief as the Dementors took off at once, gliding into the sky and disappearing from view. Sirius recovered slowly coughing and gasping for air. He lifted his head from the ground and blinked at his surrounding. Nagini faded away into nothingness.

Harry moved a step towards Sirius, to make sure he was okay but stopped suddenly. With the retreating Dementors, the numbing cold had gone as well, allowing Harry's senses to return to him. He turned slowly to look behind him, already knowing what he was going to see. Sure enough there was a group of people standing behind him. Dumbledore was at the forefront, behind him were various members of the Order including, Tonks, Moody, Arthur and Remus.

Harry stood where he was, his wand still in his hand but aimed at the ground. He looked at the small group, taking in their horrified expressions. They had seen him produce his Patronus, a _serpent_ Patronus, not a stag.

Simultaneously, every one of them raised their wand, aiming at Harry.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I know the last cliffie was evil, but what do you guys think of this one? ;)

I promise not to be cruel though and I will update soon, all you have to do is review!!! :)

Note:

I just wanted to say an enormous 'Thank You' to all those who voted for me in the Quibbler Awards. 'The Darkness Within' has won 'Best AU' and 'Best Angst' and I've come as a runner up for 'Best Author'. Thank you very much!!!!


	34. A Sirius Matter

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews!!

I'm so sorry for the cruel long wait. I've been really, really sick. I thought I was dying ;) But I'm all better now so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

WARNING: contains violent scenes and some bad language!

**Chapter Thirty Four **

_**AU World **_

The two boys walked in silence, not even glancing back at the smug looking Auror who was walking behind them, wand aimed at their backs. Instead of leading them out of the Department, Blake was leading them deeper into the strange place. Harry lost count of the number of doors he and Damien passed through. With his blurry eyesight he felt even more vulnerable. He blindly made his way, obeying Blake's instructions as to where to go next.

Harry was expecting to be taken to the Minister's office, to be revealed and possibly even reprimanded for jumping dimensions. Could they send him to Azkaban for this? Harry didn't know what the penalty would be for illegally travelling to an alternate dimension, but feared it would be severe.

It was when Blake ordered them to stop that Harry realised they were nowhere near the Minister's office. From what he could make out, they were inside a large dark chamber. He couldn't make out anything but dark cement walls. He looked over to Damien, who was standing close enough for him to make out his expression. Damien looked as confused as he felt.

Both boys turned around when they heard a heavy bolt slide into place. Blake grinned at them as he walked towards them.

"Where have you brought us?" Damien asked, anger evident in his voice as well as slight nervousness.

"Oh, what's the matter? Is this place not good enough for Prince Potter?!" Blake taunted. He opened his arms and looked around the chamber, an admiring look on his face. "This place is really something. It's located right in the heart of the Ministry and yet, it never gets used." His eyes narrowed at the two boys. "Perfect really." He added, twirling his wand.

"You're just trying to scare us. You can't do anything to us." Damien argued.

"Oh? Can't I?" Blake asked, aiming his wand at Damien.

"Stop it!" Harry yelled, making out the blurry image of the Auror targeting Damien.

Blake shifted his focus to Harry, smirking widely.

"I have to admit, finding you is a real treat!" Blake laughed, walking towards him. "Another Harry Potter from an alternate universe, can't say I'm surprised." he walked around Harry, circling him. "Your counterpart has broken every rule to date. Why miss one?"

Harry glared at him, fists clenched tightly.

"Why have you brought us here? What do you want?" he asked.

Blake's grin deepened.

"Do you know what's so special about this chamber?" he asked. "It's deserted and it only has one exit," he pointed behind him at the bolted door. "And it only gets checked once every ten years, when the Ministry building has its inspection." He grinned at the two boys. "The last check was three years ago." He added.

"And you're planning on leaving us here?" Harry asked.

"No, not at all." Blake replied. "I'm planning on killing you here."

xxx

Sirius walked out of the elevator, rubbing at his neck. He was exhausted. He had spent the majority of the day completing his paperwork. He still had numerous folders piled on his desk, waiting for him.

"Damn audit!" he mumbled as he walked down the atrium.

He rubbed at his eyes and stifled a yawn. He desperately needed a walk, some fresh air to wake him up. Then he could get back dealing with the files.

He passed by the security guard, nodding 'hello' at him.

"You have to take your visitors with you, Black." The guard grumbled, face buried in the newspaper. "They can't stay in your office alone."

Sirius stopped and turned to face the guard.

"What visitors?" Sirius asked.

The wizard put down the paper, giving Sirius a bored look.

"_Your_ visitors, Auror Black."

Sirius blinked at him.

"Jones, I think you've finally lost it. I didn't have any visitors today." Sirius said, starting to walk away.

"So both Mr Potters didn't reach your office?" the guard, Jones, asked.

Sirius stopped in his tracks again. He turned to face him.

"What?"

"Misters Potter arrived over a half hour ago, claiming to visit you. Are you saying they didn't meet you?" Jones asked.

Sirius didn't answer and darted back towards the corridor, heading for the elevator.

xxx

"Have you gone insane?" Harry asked, eyes wide with shock.

Blake shook his head.

"No, I'm finally thinking clearly." He replied.

"You're going to kill us?" Damien asked. "Why? Just because you don't get on with dad?"

Blake laughed, his voice bouncing off the walls and reverberating throughout the chamber.

"James isn't the reason, although he should be. That bastard has always acted like he's better than the rest!" His face twisted to show his anger. "Saint Potter can never do any wrong!"

"Here I thought Snape was bad." Harry muttered.

Blake didn't hear him. His expression relaxed though as he looked back at the two boys. "Well, when he finds the corpses of his two sons that should sombre him up." He walked over towards Harry again. "James' reaction is just a bonus. The real reason is you." Smirking he reiterated, "your counterpart."

Harry glared back at him.

"What's Harry ever done to you?!" Damien asked. "You've been after him for no reason other than the fact that you dislike dad!"

"He was the one who started this!" Blake hissed. "He thought he could get away with insulting me, degrading me by turning me into a…" he caught himself in time. He smoothed down his hair with one hand, keeping his wand pointed at Harry with the other. "He'll be sorry he ever messed with me." Blake hissed. His face broke out into a smile again. "The only thing I regret is that he won't know his undoing was by my hands." He shrugged his shoulders and let out a deep sigh. "Oh well, we can't have it all."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked irritated.

Blake sniggered as he suddenly towered over the young boy.

"You don't understand anything, do you?" he hissed at him, digging his wand into Harry's cheek. "Jumping to different dimensions has its risks. The equilibrium is stable since the balance hasn't been affected. But if one Harry were to die while in the wrong dimension, well, the universal equilibrium has to correct itself." He grinned again, digging the wand harder into Harry's cheek. "You die here and the other Harry, in your world will…cease to exist." He ran his wand down Harry's face and across his neck. He said the last few words slowly and quietly, dragging them out.

"You're lying!" Damien exclaimed. "That isn't possible."

"Oh I assure you, Mr Potter it is. It is the only way the universal equilibrium can be corrected." Blake answered.

"So the Harry in my world will what? Drop dead suddenly because I died here?" Harry asked, ignoring the wand, tucked under his chin now.

Blake chuckled darkly.

"No, it will be much, much worse!" he hissed.

"Do you really think you'll get away with this?" Harry asked, noting Damien creep slowly behind Blake.

"Whoever will know that I had anything to do with this?" Blake asked, his voice taking on mock innocence. "It will just be a tragic accident."

"Like you!" Damien cried mere moments before throwing all his weight into his push, knocking into Blake's back and propelling him forwards.

Harry was knocked back as Blake smashed into him. Harry hit the ground, Blake next to him. Harry blindly grabbed at his wand hand, using all his strength to keep his hand pinned down. Damien was on top of Blake in moments, punching him as hard as he could. His fists smashed into Blake's face, making his head knock back into the ground. Blake used his free hand to grab at Damien, his fingers closing around the boy's throat but Damien kept on attacking. Harry smashed the hand in his grip on the ground in an attempt to knock the wand from him. Finally it happened and Harry pulled the wand away from Blake's hand.

Harry stood up, aiming the wand at Blake. Damien was still punching fiercely.

"Damien! Damien, stop it. He's out!" Harry yelled, reaching down to pull Damien away from the now unconscious man.

Damien snapped out of his rage. He looked carefully at the man sprawled out before him. Blood had started to leak out of his nose and his eyes were half closed. The hand that had been wrapped around Damien's throat was now lying limp on top of Blake's chest.

"Come on, get up Damy. Come on!" Harry pulled Damien to his feet.

They quickly darted towards the door, unlocking it and slipping out, leaving the unconscious Auror behind.

xxx

Damien had his map out so they could make their way out of the maze they were in.

"I think it's this way." Damien said, pointing to the fourth door in a row of twenty.

Harry scrunched his eyes but still couldn't make out which door Damien meant.

"Uh, sort of blind here." He said.

Damien grabbed a hold of his hand to guide him.

"Is your eyesight really this bad?" he asked.

"No, I'm acting just for the hell of it." Harry replied annoyed.

"Maybe I should take the wand." Damien said, reaching for it. "You might hit the pillar instead of the opponent."

Harry made a face at him but handed the wand over. They continued in silence, Damien referring to his map every so often.

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Damien asked quietly, walking with Harry but looking straight ahead of him.

"About what?" Harry asked, even though he knew what he meant.

"About…about the universal equilibrium? That he…he would…die if, if anything happened to you here?" the words seemed difficult for Damien to get out.

"I don't know." Harry said truthfully. "I hope not." He added.

Damien kept on walking, not making any eye contact.

"He was probably lying!" Damien said after a few moments. "Trying to scare us. Who made him the specialist in dimension jumping?"

Harry nodded, feeling his heart leap uncomfortably in his chest. He really hoped Blake was lying.

"I think we go through…here." Damien said pointing to a heavy wooden door.

"You're the one with the map." Harry said.

Using Blake's wand to unlock the door, they walked into a large chamber.

"We've not been here before." Harry said, squinting at the sight before him.

"Huh, that's weird." Damien said from beside him, glancing down at the map again. "How could I read this wrong?" he asked himself.

The chamber was bigger than any chamber they had ever seen before. The high ceiling had an enormous sphere in the center. It had eight identical panes around it, perfect forty-five degree triangles cutting the sphere. A strange glow was coming down from this sphere, illuminating the chamber. Even though it wasn't made of glass, the panes managed to transmit some sort of light into the chamber.

The light reflected the rest of the room and even with his blurry eyesight, Harry could see that it was crammed full of things. There were shelves upon shelves lining the entire chamber and on these shelves were all sorts of items. Harry moved towards the closest shelf and saw a pair of normal looking leather gloves. It had a tag attached to it. Harry leaned in to read, '_Mr Hodgson, Pierce. 24-10-1943_'. Next to them was a fake wooden leg with another tag reading a name and a date.

"What is this place?" Harry asked as he glanced up to see a rubber ball, a stack of colourful books and a tattered shirt all bearing tags.

"I think it's the Repossession chamber." Damien said, poking at a slimy looking ball with the tip of Blake's wand. "It's where the Ministry stores confiscated items from raids or possessions of those arrested and sentenced to Azkaban."

Harry saw what looked like an old broken table lamp and turned to look at Damien.

"Really?" he asked sceptically.

"Well, a lot of this stuff isn't what it appears to be." Damien replied, nodding at the broken lamp.

Harry looked around the chamber, a chill running through him.

"It's sort of…"

"Creepy? Yeah." Damien finished for him.

A loud noise caught them off guard. Harry snapped his head up towards the noise and saw the large sphere growing brighter. The noise intensified, a mechanical grinding sound. He realised that the eight panes were slowly retracting, letting in floods of light. Before their eyes, a large bulk fell through the gap and hit the ground. Damien, who was pointing the wand at the sphere jumped as the large package hit the ground. The panes of the sphere moved again and closed up, blocking the light once more.

Silence echoed through the chamber again. Harry and Damien slowly approached the bulky item that had literally fallen from above. Before they got within a few steps the package moved and shuddered. Damien had the wand aimed at once but found it wasn't necessary after a few seconds.

Individual items began floating out of the bulky package which had a transparent bubble surrounding it. But appearances could be deceptive and although the bubble looked delicate, the sound of it hitting the ground had suggested it was heavy and probably weighed a lot. The boys saw that it was more personal items. A set of robes, dragon hide boots, a beaded bag, a wooden drawer, a hairbrush and several other items all with small tags dangling from them, shot out from the bubble and landed on empty slots in the shelves. Slowly the bubble shrank and with the last item, a toilet seat, landing on the designated spot, the bubble popped and disappeared.

"We should get going." Harry said, still eying the spot the bubble had been moments ago.

"What's the hurry?" a voice asked behind him.

Harry turned around to see Blake standing behind him, blocking the door. Blood still marred his face and he looked livid. Damien raised the wand, aiming at Blake but the Auror darted forwards, knocking Damien back and in the process, disarming him.

Damien hit the ground with a thud, the breath knocked out of him. Blake grabbed him by the hair and knocked his head against the stone floor, repeatedly.

"Damien!" Harry yelled, darting to his aid but he was too late. Blake had grabbed his wand and was aiming it at Harry.

Harry stopped in his tracks, stepping back as Blake slowly stood up. Harry glanced down at Damien to see him groaning in pain, eyes shut and both hands at the back of his head. Blake pointed his wand downwards on Damien.

"No!" Harry yelled. "Leave him alone!"

Blake looked up at Harry, a sadistic smile on his blood stained face.

"Feeling protective are we?" he asked. He kicked Damien in the stomach, making the boy cry out.

"Don't touch him!" Harry yelled, stepping forwards.

"Would you rather I kill you first?" Blake hissed, turning his wand on him. "Very well. It would be my pleasure."

Harry's eyes darted to Damien again, seeing him roll over on the ground, panting through his pain. He looked over behind Blake at the shelves before focusing back on Blake.

Blake laughed again.

"There's no way out! Your time has come to an end." He declared. "Aw, tut-tut. What will you do now?" he mocked.

Harry gave Blake a small smile.

"What I always do," he returned. "Play to my strengths."

Blake's smile slipped off his face, confusion evident in his expression.

Harry moved, remembering a technique he had spent a whole afternoon learning. He moved to his left, spreading his arms out as if he were going to push Blake. The Auror fired his curse as soon as Harry moved but before the curse could hit its target, Harry had changed paths and was now jumping to his right, out of the path of the killing curse.

Harry looked up at the shelf behind Blake and extended a hand.

"Accio broomstick!" he whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear him. He jumped out of the way as Blake fired another killing curse as him. He hit the ground and had only enough time to roll over onto his front when Blake had the wand pointed straight at his chest.

"Game over!" he hissed.

Suddenly Blake toppled over as something knocked against his head. Harry held out a hand and caught the long stick that zoomed over to him after smacking Blake around the head. He'd done it, he had performed wandless magic!

Harry didn't have any time to think about what he had achieved. He got to his feet and mounted the broom before Blake recovered. Harry darted towards Damien who was getting to his feet, still looking dazed and in pain. Without stopping, Harry reached out and grabbed onto Damien's hand, pulling him onto the broom as he sped upwards. Damien settled behind Harry, gripping onto his robes for support.

Harry heard the killing curse uttered again and swerved out of the way just in time. The jet of green light hit the wall just to his right and disappeared. Harry picked up speed, looping in and out of the shelves to make it harder for Blake to take aim.

"He's on our tail!" Damien suddenly yelled.

Harry looked back to see the blurry image of Blake on another broom and chasing after them. He was still firing curses at them but he couldn't aim very well while trying to fly at the same time. Harry swerved, looping back so he was flying in the opposite direction to Blake.

"We need to get out!" Damien said, turning his head to see Blake change route and follow them.

Harry looked up at the sphere, wondering how often it opened. He darted towards it regardless. As soon as Harry approached it, the panes began to move and slowly open up.

"Harry!" Damien cried and Harry dived downwards, out of the way of another killing curse. Harry pulled out of the dive and swerved away from another fired killing curse.

"Hold on, Damy!" Harry said and took a sharp turn, almost unseating himself and Damien.

Damien held on to Harry and managed to stay seated. Harry dove straight towards Blake, seemingly towards an on head collision. The change took the Auror by surprise and he faltered for a moment. Harry took the chance and pulled the broom upwards, shooting straight up.

Damien clung on, his grip so tight it had torn Harry's robes. Harry pushed with all his might, making the broom go faster and higher. He was heading for the gap at the top of the sphere. Harry swerved to avoid colliding with the large bubble carrying more things to the chamber below. The heavy bulky bubble hit Blake instead.

The panes were in the process of coming together again, the gap closing rapidly. Harry pushed the broom to move faster, a bruising grip on the broom. He felt Damien suck in a breath behind him as the gap became smaller and narrower. Harry pushed on, closing his eyes and letting his instinct take over. He opened his eyes when he felt the blinding light from behind closed eyelids. Opening his eyes he saw that he had passed through the gap just before it closed and sealed the chamber. Harry halted the broom, hovering in mid air.

His blurry eyesight did not allow him to make out everything about the room but from what he could tell he was in a brightly lit room, with what looked like large transparent tubes running from the top of the ceiling down to the sphere on the floor. He could see bundles of items moving slowly down the tubes. When they reached the end of the tubes, they became encased in a transparent bubble and floated over to the mouth of the sphere, which obviously opened up and granted access to the chamber below.

Harry headed towards the ground, dismounting from the broom as soon as his feet touched the ground. Damien finally let go of Harry's robes and dismounted too.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," the boy returned. "Probably going to have a killer headache tomorrow." He added, tenderly rubbing the back of his head.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Harry said, leaving the broom and heading to the small door furthest from them.

xxx

It took the boys nearly twenty minutes to find their way. Damien had thankfully pocketed his map before Blake had attacked him. They hurried down deserted corridors, trying to get back to the main atrium.

They turned the corner and Damien let out an excited cry, pointing in front of him.

"Finally!"

Harry squinted in the direction Damien was pointing but couldn't make out anything.

"What is it?"

"The elevators." Damien replied, taking Harry's hand and sprinting towards the metal grills.

Just before they reached them, the elevator arrived and the metal grills opened.

"Oh!" Damien skidded to a stop, dragging Harry to a stop too.

Harry looked at the dark haired man stepping out of the elevators. Even with his compromised eyesight he had no trouble recognising him.

"Dad?"

xxx

The tinkling sound of a metal spoon gently hitting the porcelain mug filled the otherwise silent room. James lifted the spoon from the mug and set it down. He carried the two steaming mugs across the room and set them down in front of his two boys.

Harry and Damien quickly reached for them, sipping the soothing tea. James walked back to his desk and collected the other two mugs and handed one to his friend. Sirius took the drink and sat down opposite the boys. James sat down but made no move to drink from his mug.

"How do you feel?" he asked his youngest, though his voice held none of its usual tenderness.

Damien nodded quickly.

"Fine" he answered.

James gave him a stern look.

"It hurts but it's a lot better after the potion." Damien revised, gently reaching back to touch his bruised head.

James' hard eyes moved to Harry next. Harry was able to see his dad's face clearly now, since he was wearing his glasses.

"And you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me." Harry answered.

Next to James, Sirius winced, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. He peeked at Harry and mouthed, 'wrong answer'.

Harry realised he was right when in the next instant James started yelling.

"Oh, he didn't hurt you?! Well I beg to differ!" he gestured to the slight, barely noticeable, bruise on his cheek. It was from the wand Blake had dug into his cheek when he was threatening him.

Harry reached to touch his cheek.

"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt." Harry answered.

"That's not the point!" James spat angrily. "It's more the fact that that bastard _tried_ to hurt you! He shouldn't have been anywhere near you, both of you!"

Harry and Damien ducked their heads.

"You don't know how lucky you two are?" Sirius added. "We watched the orb; Blake had fired a total of fifteen killing curses at you."

Harry winced; it didn't feel that many when he was dodging them. James cursed again and stood up, pacing the floor.

"I swear to Merlin! I'm going to rip that son of a bitch apart!" he fumed.

"You won't get the chance. He's already been sent to Azkaban." Sirius said.

Harry and Damien looked up at him in surprise.

"That was fast!" Damien commented.

"Casting an Unforgivable is a lifetime in Azkaban." Sirius said. "Diggory was not too fond of Blake as it was. Fudge covered for Blake and Aurors that used unauthorised Unforgivables but Diggory is different. He had already put in place stricter protocols but Blake obviously thought he would get away with it, like he had been doing under Fudge." Sirius shook his head. "The idiot didn't remember the security orbs set up in the Repossession chamber. Everything he said and did was recorded, including chasing you two around the chamber and firing numerous killing curses at you."

"Why does that chamber have security orbs?" Damien asked.

"To make sure the 'Repossession' chamber doesn't become a 'take-what-you-like' chamber." Sirius explained. "It was set up to stop employees from stealing things. Just as well; that orb gave enough evidence to lock Blake up for life after what he tried to do. Indisputable evidence!" he said. Then looking at Harry he smiled. "By the way, exceptional flying!" he grinned.

James stopped in his pacing and glared at him. Sirius' grin quickly faded and ducked his head, similar to the two boys sitting opposite.

"What were you doing in the Ministry in the first place!" James asked. "You lied to me and your mum and sneaked away to the Ministry! Why?!" he demanded. "If Sirius hadn't contacted me, I would never have known you were there."

Damien looked at Sirius under his fringe.

"Thanks, by the way." He muttered to him sarcastically.

"If I hadn't, I would be on that sofa keeping you two company." Sirius said, pointing to their side.

"Explain to me what you were doing at the Ministry?!" James asked, glaring down at the two boys. "Harry? Damien? I asked you something!"

Harry looked up, taking a deep breath.

"We went to the Ministry to look for something." He started.

Damien shifted nervously next to him, preparing himself for his father's tantrum.

"What were you looking for?" James asked, a little calmer.

Harry looked at Damien before answering.

"The submitted memory of Hagrid's death."

James looked at him, eyes shifting from Harry to Damien and then back again. Harry kept his eyes on his dad.

"It was my idea." Damien quickly admitted. "I was the one who took Harry to the Ministry."

James didn't say anything but that in itself was a bad sign.

"Dad, we had to know what happened." Harry started to explain. "I'm sorry I told Damien. I know you didn't want him to know but…"

"But I got it out of him. He was upset and I wanted to know why?" Damien jumped in. "It wasn't his fault."

"We need to know what happened the day Hagrid died." Harry said his tone pleading for his dad to understand.

"You already know what happened." James said, finally speaking. "I told you, as did Dumbledore."

"There has to be more to it than what you said. Hagrid wouldn't…" Harry started.

"Harry! Listen to me, there _is_ no more! He betrayed us, that is all there is to it. You have to accept that!" James interrupted.

Harry studied James silently for a moment. When he spoke his voice was quiet and calm.

"When I told you what happened to Sirius in my world, did you, for even a moment, believe that Sirius was guilty? That he had betrayed you and mum?"

James looked taken aback. On the sofa, Sirius tensed at the mention of his counterpart.

"No" James answered tightly. "I didn't."

"Why?" Harry asked. "Because he is your friend and you trust him." Harry answered his own question. He looked into James' eyes, locking his gaze with him. "Hagrid is my friend and I trust him too. Hagrid would die but never betray his friends, never betray Professor Dumbledore."

James didn't say anything but his expression was calmer. He sat down next to Sirius, sighing deeply. He ran a hand through his hair.

"You still shouldn't have gone to the Ministry, especially with intent to break in and steal." He reprimanded but less strictly.

"We tried other ways," Harry explained. "We even got Sirius to get us the file on Hagrid, but that didn't give us any answers."

James shot an angry glare at his friend, who in turn quickly looked away. His eyes met with Damien sitting opposite. Damien smirked at him and patted the seat next to him inviting him. Sirius growled back at him.

"Then what are you after?" James asked, directing his attention back to Harry.

"We wanted to see for ourselves what happened." Harry explained. "We thought if we saw the memory, it might give us some answers."

James sat for a moment, seeming to be deep in thought. He got up and walked over to his desk. Pulling open a drawer he rummaged through it until he found a small glass vial. He brought the empty vial back to the sofa.

"I'll give you this under one condition." He started. "After this, you will drop your investigation. I can't have you both risking your life."

Harry nodded, watching James carefully.

With a deep breath, James closed his eyes and brought his wand tip to his temple. He pulled away bringing a silvery white string with it. He dropped the wispy looking thread into the vial and corked it.

"Here," he said, handing it to Harry. "The memory you asked for."

Harry quickly took the memory gratefully.

"Thank you, dad." He smiled.

James didn't smile back.

"I'm hoping you'll see the truth after watching this. I know it's not what you want to believe but…" he trailed off, looking upset. "Hagrid had our trust too. When your trust in a friend breaks, the pain it causes is…unimaginable." He looked at both his sons. "That is the only reason I wanted you to not delve further into what happened with him."

Harry shared a look with Damien.

"We understand, dad. Thank you." Damien said quietly.

"Your mum is due back soon. Her trip to the Apothecary should be finished about now. I'll have to tell her what happened." He smiled a little at the fearful expressions of his sons. "Brace yourselves." He joked.

xxx

Harry and Damien were in Harry's quarter, having left their dad talking with Sirius.

"He's probably yelling at him for giving us Hagrid's file." Harry said, rummaging through the cupboard in his room.

"Good, he deserves it for giving us up." Damien said, sitting on the sofa.

"Somehow, I think dad would have found out about our Ministry trip. What with Blake being found on the floor of the Repossession chamber being knocked off his broom and evidence of him trying to kill us." Harry said, turning to look at Damien.

"When you put it like that…" Damien muttered.

"Damy, you reckon mum will be as mad as dad?" Harry asked. They had yet to meet her.

"I'm recommending two draughts of calming potion." Damien said.

"How will we get her to drink it?" Harry asked, pulling the cluttered cupboard apart to find what he was looking for.

"It's not for her. It's for us. That's the only way we'll get through her tantrum."

Harry chuckled quietly.

"Hey, Damy, are you sure it's in here?" he asked.

"Every staff quarter has one. I'm sure of it." Damien replied.

Harry pushed away a large wooden box and then spotted it.

"Found it!" he said, pulling the stone basin out from the cupboard.

He walked over to the coffee table and placed it gently on top. Damien picked up the glass vial with their dad's memory. He uncorked it and poured the silvery white contents into the pensieve.

"Here we go." Damien said standing up next to Harry.

Before they could lean towards the pensieve, Damien stopped Harry.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Harry," Damien replied, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He answered it quickly. "Hi Harry!" He greeted. His eyes narrowed suddenly, a look of concern flooding his features, "What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

---

_**Canon World**_

It was as if the world had halted to a complete stop. Nothing moved; not the leaves in the gentle breeze, not the birds perched on tall branches, or the group of witches and wizards gathered in the heart of the forest.

Harry kept his eyes on the Order members standing behind Dumbledore, aware of how each and every wand was trained on him. His own wand was still in his hand but pointed at the ground. Behind him, he could hear Sirius' haggard breathing and failed attempts to get to his feet.

"What…what's going…on?" Sirius asked, his voice trembling. "Harry?"

"He's not Potter!" Moody yelled. "He's an impostor! He's been tricking us for months!"

Harry turned then, breaking his gaze away from the armed Order members to look at his godfather.

Sirius, still on the ground, looked from Moody to Harry is disbelief. His eyes locked on Harry and he shook his head.

"It can't be," he whispered. "Dumbledore? What's going on?!" he asked louder.

The Headmaster didn't say anything and it was only then that Sirius saw the wand in his hand was also pointed at Harry. Sirius' breath hitched in his chest. His eyes grew impossibly wide as he stared in horror at Harry.

"Drop your wand and surrender!" Kingsley shouted at Harry.

Harry ignored him. He knew they wouldn't attack, not until Dumbledore commanded anyway. He kept his eyes on Sirius.

"I can explain," he started, talking only to Sirius. "It's not how it seems."

"You can do all your explaining at the Ministry. You're under arrest!" Moody told him.

Harry looked away from Sirius' horror stricken face and glared at Moody.

"Just give me one minute to explain!" He shouted back at him.

"Drop your wand!" Kingsley said.

Harry looked around at the faces glaring back at him. Not one of them seemed ready to give him a chance to explain. He looked back at Sirius, regret for what he was about to do had already started to consume him. He looked back at Dumbledore, surprised the wizard had yet to say anything. He looked hatefully at the Headmaster before the grip on his wand tightened.

Dumbledore acted at the same time as Harry. A spell shot out of his wand just as Harry yelled his incantation.

"Momentum Expur!"

The ground shook as if in the grips of an earthquake. Most lost their footing and the numerous wands trained on Harry wavered from their target. Dumbledore's body bind spell was engulfed by Harry's head to foot shield. At the sight of the blue bubble encasing Harry something changed in Dumbledore's expression, a look that strangely resembled triumph took over his features; as if Harry's protective action had finally proven something to him.

With one final look at Sirius, Harry took off, running as fast as he could deeper into the woods. He felt many spells whiz by him as the Order members were on his trail, trying desperately to get him. Harry didn't stop to fire any of his own curses. He kept on running, but he levitated a broken branch and hurled it behind him, wincing when he heard Tonks' cry of pain after the loud smack.

Harry didn't stop running, not until he was sure he was out of sight. He had to jump and crouch low behind a large mound of earth. He could hear the Order members, searching frantically for him. Certain he couldn't be seen, Harry disapparated with a small pop.

xxx

Hermione sat at the table, her fork gently tapping her plate. Her food lay untouched. She glanced up at the staff table, focusing on the Headmaster. He was busy with his dinner, no trace of any kind of worry on his face. The rest of the staff however showed their anxiousness. Professor McGonagall looked sterner than usual; her lips pressed tightly together, eyes sharper as they scanned the hall every so often. At the other end of the table, Professor Snape looked like his usual indifferent self but Hermione noted he had a slight bruise on his forehead and his face seemed paler than before. The rest of the faculty were whispering quietly amongst themselves, some glancing candidly at Dumbledore, who was doing a great job of ignoring everyone.

Hermione looked away as McGonagall caught her stare. She looked back at her plate and pushed the food around, her appetite completely gone.

"Hermione?"

Hermione looked over at the red haired girl.

"Yeah?"

Ginny looked pointedly at the two empty seats before her.

"Where's Ron?" she asked.

Hermione shrugged.

"No idea."

Ginny looked over at the doors worriedly. She turned back around to face Hermione.

"He's not the type to miss dinner." She said quietly. Hermione nodded, she knew that much too. "Maybe he's worried, you know, about Harry." Ginny offered.

Hermione looked away, tapping her plate again.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Maybe."

xxx

After a few more minutes, Hermione felt she couldn't sit in the Great Hall any longer. All around her there was the excited buzzing of gossip. Nearly every student was talking about what had happened earlier; the attack of the Hellhounds, the trick the DA students played to get out and help the trapped Slytherins, not to mention the fact that there had been a secret DA club training in Defence, how the students duelled and fought off the ferocious beats and lastly, how Harry Potter was taken away to St Mungos for treatment of injuries he sustained fighting the Hellhounds.

That last part was a complete lie and Hermione knew it. She had seen Harry fight the beasts and moments before he disappeared into the forest, chasing after the leader Hellhound, he had not even a scratch on him.

Hermione swung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the hall, her head bowed to avoid looking at all the students staring at her. Most were whispering about how 'awful' it must be for her, to possibly lose one of her best friends, the famous Harry Potter.

Hermione muttered angrily under her breath. Dumbledore had announced shortly after returning to the school, that Harry had been taken to hospital to treat injuries he suffered from the Hellhounds. But the students had turned his words around and were gossiping about Harry as if he were on death's bed!

"Idiots!" she cursed as she started walking up the stairs.

She knew Harry was fine and she knew he was possibly not injured at all. But her heart hammered at her insides nonetheless. If Harry was fine then where was he?

She bit her lip as she remembered the moments after Harry had ran after the leader Hellhound, disappearing into the dark forest. Not even two minutes later Dumbledore had arrived, bringing with him several members of the Order. The Headmaster had instructed all of them to immediately get back inside the castle. Hermione had never seen him as angry as he looked at spotting them amongst the bodies of the unconscious or dead Hellhounds.

As the students hastened to obey their furious Headmaster, they saw a black dog, big and bear like, sprinting its way past them and into the forest. Dumbledore tore after him, the members of the Order running after him.

Hermione and the DA members with her were escorted back inside the castle by the Order member, Hestia Jones.

After waiting almost an hour, Dumbledore arrived into the Great Hall and told all the students that the attack was by Hellhounds who had somehow managed to enter Hogwarts Grounds. He told them that all danger was now cleared and they were safe. It was then he added that Harry was injured and had been taken to hospital.

That was it. All the explanation they got for Harry's absence.

Hermione sighed deeply as she walked over towards the common room, hoping to find Ron inside. She was annoyed at him for skipping dinner; he could have at least told her he wasn't hungry. That way she wouldn't have bothered going to the Great Hall either.

She was just about to say the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady when she heard it. A small, yet definite, sound. It sounded high and tinkled, like someone dropping a coin onto the marble floor. Hermione looked over in the direction of the sound. It came from her left side, somewhere beside the small alcove just behind the stone gargoyle.

"Hello? Ron?" she asked as he neared the alcove.

There was no response.

Hermione pulled out her wand as he walked slowly over. She was hoping it was Ron. After all, everyone else was still in the Great Hall having dinner.

"Who is it?" she called out as he stepped nearer. "Ron?"

She was still about five steps away when it happened. A dark shadow suddenly sprang at her. It shot straight towards her before twisting behind her. A firm grip around her wrist restricted her from using her wand. Hermione felt the scream bubble inside her but never got it out in time. A hand clamped around her mouth stopping all sound from leaving her. Hermione struggled with all her strength but couldn't get free.

"Still not quick enough." a voice whispered in her ear.

Hermione stopped struggling at once, immense relief flooding her. The grip on her wrist slackened and the hand covering her mouth lifted so Hermione could turn around. She turned to face Harry to see him smiling tiredly at her.

"Harry!" Hermione breathed before hugging him. "I've been so worried!" she gushed.

Harry gently pulled her away before taking her hand in his.

"Come on." he tugged gently leading her away.

Hermione followed silently. She quickly realised where Harry was headed. She recognised the path to the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor. She saw that the door was already there, waiting for them. Harry opened the door and led her through quickly.

Ron turned around when the door opened and smiled with relief as Hermione entered.

"About time!" he complained. "Did you fall asleep or what?" he asked Harry.

Harry shut the door and gave Ron a look.

"She took ages coming back from dinner." He responded.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked looking from one boy to the other.

"I met Harry just as I was coming down for dinner," Ron explained. "He wouldn't tell me what happened in the forest until you were here."

Hermione turned to stare in amazement at Harry. He just shrugged.

"I didn't want to repeat myself." He explained taking a seat.

Ron and Hermione sat down as well and listened intently as Harry ran through everything that happened in the forest. The two Gryffindors grew paler as Harry told them about being caught by the Order and their lack of patience with him.

"I had no other option, I ran." Harry said.

"This is terrible." Hermione said shaking her head. "What are you going to do now?" she asked worriedly.

Harry shook his head.

"I don't know. I didn't plan that far." He said.

"Where are you going to stay?" Ron asked seriously. "It's too dangerous for you to be here, mate. Professor Dumbledore will know."

Harry nodded his head, running a hand through his hair.

"I know," he said quietly. "I'm not planning on staying. I just came back to see what Dumbledore had told you lot about me."

"He told us you were injured and had to be taken to St Mungos." Hermione replied.

Harry looked surprised but didn't say anything.

"Your stuff's gone." Ron said quietly. "Your trunk along with your clothes has been moved out of the dorm."

Harry smirked.

"So Dumbledore's holding my robes and pyjamas hostage?" he joked.

"Stop it Harry," Hermione admonished. "This is serious."

"You have to go to Professor Dumbledore and explain what happened." Ron said. "Once Professor Dumbledore knows the truth; that you are in fact Harry Potter and you've swapped worlds, he'll be able to help you."

"I don't want his help." Harry replied.

"You don't have much of a choice," Hermione said. "Professor Dumbledore is the only one who can get you out of this mess."

"Not necessarily." Harry said quietly. Looking up he met both pairs of questioning eyes. "I don't need Dumbledore to believe me. As far as I'm concerned there are only two people I need on my side."

"We'll always be on your side, mate." Ron said, extending a hand and clapping Harry on the shoulder.

Harry looked at his hand and then at him.

"I wasn't talking about the two of you."

Ron's hand quickly came away from Harry's shoulder.

"I knew that." he mumbled.

Harry got to his feet. "I better get going. I'll see you guys soon, hopefully." He added.

"Wait, where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"Somewhere I never thought I would go, again."

Without another word he disapparated, leaving Ron and Hermione alone. She turned to face Ron looking confused.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Ron shrugged.

"I never get what he means." Hermione still looked awfully worried so Ron walked over to try and comfort her. "It'll be okay, Hermione. Harry knows what he's doing. He'll figure a way out, I'm sure."

Hermione nodded reluctantly.

"Yes, I know, but I hate how untrusting he is of Professor Dumbledore. I mean, why would Professor Dumbledore ever want to harm him?" at seeing Ron's expression she quickly added. "Once he finds out Harry's not an impostor of course."

"I don't…" Ron trailed off, his blue eyes widening as they focused on Hermione's shoulder.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked, peering at her shoulder.

Ron reached for her hair and for a moment, Hermione thought he was going to brush it behind her, but Ron ran his hand down her bushy locks, his thumb and forefinger crushing a few strands between them.

"Ron…?" Hermione started but stopped short when she saw him pull his hand away and his thumb and forefinger were stained red.

"It's blood," Ron said quietly. "Some of your hair is…stained."

Hermione quickly ran a hand through her hair and found that Ron was right.

"I don't understand…how could…?" she suddenly remembered hugging Harry after realising it was him hiding in the alcove. Her head had been resting on his chest and her wild bushy hair had brushed against his shoulder. She gasped and looked down at her fingers stained with blood. "It's Harry's!" she exclaimed. "He's hurt."

Ron looked at his own fingers stained with the blood of his best friend.

"He better get this mess sorted and soon." he groaned. "He needs help and he needs it fast!"

xxx

The rain hit the windows of number 12 Grimmauld Place with fierce force. Its regular pitter patter was starting to become almost soothing. Sirius watched the raindrops hit the glass of his windows silently. His grip on the crystal glass in his hand tightened as his thoughts dragged him back to the events earlier that day.

He raised his glass and drained the amber liquid quickly, letting the sting of the alcohol numb his mind momentarily. Five months, for the last five months his godson had been missing and he was none the wiser. For the last five months an impostor, probably sent by Voldemort, was pretending to be Harry and he hadn't recognised him.

Sirius raised his glass to drink again but it was empty. Snarling, he set the glass down on his coffee table with a loud thump. The sound made the other occupant of the room look up.

"I think you've had enough." Remus said from across the room as he saw Sirius reach for the bottle.

"And I think you should keep out of this!" Sirius snapped back.

He poured himself more of his drink and picked up his glass. Remus got up from his seat and walked over to sit with his friend.

"This isn't going to do anything but give you one hell of a hangover tomorrow." He advised as Sirius gulped down the drink.

"Good, at least it will distract my mind from how badly I've failed." Sirius replied. Remus didn't say anything but looked miserably at his friend. Sirius shook his head. "How could I have not seen it, Moony?" he asked. "He was here, living with me and I didn't see that he wasn't Harry."

"He tricked everyone." Remus said, remembering the identity spell Moody had cast on him the day they went to pick Harry up from Privet Drive.

"Some godfather I am, eh?" Sirius scoffed. "I can't even tell my own godson apart from an impostor!"

"Padfoot, listen to me. This isn't your fault." Remus tried.

"He trusted me." Sirius whispered and Remus quietened. He knew from Sirius' tone who he was referring to. "James trusted me to look after him, to keep him safe, and now…"

"We don't know what's happened. Dumbledore is doing all he can to get Harry's whereabouts. I'm sure Harry is safe." Remus said, sounding like he was reassuring himself as well as Sirius.

Sirius' tortured eyes met Remus'.

"It's been five months, Moony. We don't know where Harry is, who he is with, what he's been through...I….he might not even be…." Sirius couldn't finish and his head fell into his hands. "I messed up. I let Harry down, I let James down. I let that snake faced bastard get him!"

"You don't know that for sure." Remus said.

"Oh come on, Remus! Who else is after Harry? Who else would send an impostor to take Harry's place?!"

"That's just the thing, Sirius. Think about this for a second. If it is indeed Voldemort that has taken Harry, why would he send an impostor to take his place? And why would that impostor help any of us? You heard what Moody and Kingsley said; the Patronus they saw today was the same one that came to them at the Ministry the night Arthur was attacked. This impostor pretending to be Harry has not only saved Arthur's life, he's saved your life as well. Why would he do that if he were an enemy?"

"He _is_ the enemy!" Sirius hissed. "He's taken Harry away so he's an enemy!"

"Sirius…" Remus started.

"Why are you defending him?" Sirius asked in outrage. "You've been sitting here all this time working out why this person has helped us but have you spent one thought about where Harry is? Or what he could be going through?"

"I care for Harry too, you know that." Remus began. "Just because I'm not drinking myself into a waste doesn't mean I'm not worried about his safety. I'm trying to find Harry and we can only do that if we find this impostor first. He is the only key we have to getting Harry back."

"And how do we find him? Where do we start looking? Dumbledore's given his usual 'we'll do all we can' speech but how is that going to help us?"

"We'll find him, Sirius." Remus promised.

"How?" Sirius asked angrily.

"You can look behind you." A new voice said from behind them.

Remus and Sirius turned to see a shadow standing just at the entrance. A single step brought the stranger into the flickering light of the wall torch. Remus and Sirius were on their feet in moments, wands clutched in their hands.

Harry held up both of his hands.

"I'm not armed." He told them. "And I'm not here to hurt anyone. I'm here to talk."

In a flurry of movement Sirius had pushed past Remus and was heading for Harry.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled, rage etched in every line of his face.

"Sirius! Sirius, don't." Remus tried to pull his friend back but Sirius struggled forward.

"Where is Harry?! What have you done with him?!" He asked as he fought against Remus.

He threw his friend off and darted for Harry. In his rage, he didn't even think to use his wand. He grabbed Harry by the collars of his robes, his fingers disappearing into the folds of the robes.

"If you've hurt him, I swear to Merlin…!" Sirius hissed before Remus managed to pull him back, releasing Harry in the process. Remus dragged him all the way back to his seat.

Harry didn't speak but kept his eyes on Sirius as he continued to struggle against his friend. He was still threatening him, the words nothing more than enraged spluttering. As soon Remus' grip on him slackened, Sirius pushed him away and aimed his wand at Harry.

"Where is Harry!? Where is he?!" he yelled, anger consuming him whole. When Harry didn't show any intent to answer, Sirius lost control of his rage. "Crucio!" he yelled aiming at Harry's chest.

"Sirius!" Remus cried as he knocked into him, grabbing a hold of Sirius' wand holding arm. The cruciatus curse was knocked out of its path by Remus forcibly pushing Sirius' hand away from its target. The curse narrowly missed Harry's shoulder, which was still bleeding from the Hellhound's bite.

"What are you doing!?" Remus yelled as he wrestled the wand away from his friend. "If you hurt him, we may never find where Harry is!"

Sirius' anger seemed to drain out of him and he sagged onto the sofa, hiding his face behind his hands in despair.

Remus looked over at Harry, who hadn't moved, not even to jump out of the way of Sirius' unforgivable curse. Remus slowly moved towards him. He looked composed but his eyes gave away his turmoil. He took a moment to look at Harry before he spoke.

"Look, whatever it was you were planning, it's over now." he said, his voice gentle and quiet. "It would be best for you to tell us where Harry is. If…If you help us get Harry back, safe and sound, then we can help you…" he faltered, his voice breaking. It took him a moment to get his voice back. "Is Harry okay?" he finally managed to ask.

Harry looked into the troubled eyes of his dad's best friend. He nodded once, keeping his eyes fixed to the werewolf's.

"He's fine. I might even say he's enjoying himself."

Sirius looked over at Harry when he spoke.

"Where is he?" Remus asked.

Harry shook his head.

"You'll never believe me." He said. He knew it was futile at this point to hide the truth. This part he had to tell them anyway. It was facts about himself that he had to keep hidden. "He's in my world." Harry answered after a moments pause.

"Your world?! What does that mean?" Sirius asked, sounding more afraid now than angry.

"I mean, I'm from another universe," Harry said, eying both wizards. "And I am Harry Potter."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, neither looking convinced.

"Everyone knows that alternate dimensions exist," Remus started. "But travelling between them is impossible."

"So is surviving the killing curse." Harry said. "If one Harry can do that the other can find a way to travel between worlds."

Remus looked lost for words but it was clear he still didn't believe him.

"I have proof," Harry offered. "I'm going to reach into my robes and…"

"I don't think so!" Remus cut him off, his wand back at aiming at him.

"Fine, you do it." Harry relented.

Sirius stood up and took back his wand from Remus. He kept his wand trained on Harry while Remus approached him.

"Top inner pocket." Harry instructed.

Remus carefully peeled back Harry's robes, noting the look of pain that flashed on the boy's face when the robes brushed against the raw looking wound on his shoulder. His werewolf senses had already picked up the scent of blood and as disbelieving as he was of the alternate dimension story, he couldn't help but pick up the fact that the boy standing before him _smelled_ like Harry.

Remus' fingers brushed against a small metallic device. He carefully pulled it out, confused at the sight of the small rectangular device, with red streaks marring its front.

"It's a phone. It connects to my world." Harry explained, holding out a hand to take it from Remus.

Remus handed him the phone, looking back at Sirius who looked intrigued.

Harry gave the phone a quick wipe, rubbing it down his leg, to get rid of his blood stains streaked down the front. He pushed the green button and then pressed it again. It was probably better if this conversation was on loud speaker. He noticed how Remus and Sirius had their eyes fixed to him. After three rings, there was a click and Damien's voice filled the room.

xxx

"Hi Harry!" Damien greeted in his usual cheerful voice.

"Damy" Harry responded.

"What's wrong?" Damien's concerned voice echoed around the room.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong." Harry replied quickly. "Is Harry there?"

"Yeah, he's right here, hold on." Damien answered, still sounding worried.

A moment later, Harry's voice filled the room.

"Hello"

Harry offered the phone to Remus without returning the greeting. Remus took the phone and cautiously brought it to his ear.

"Hello? Harry? Hello?" the voice continued to echo in the room.

Sharing a look with Sirius, Remus spoke into the phone.

"Harry?"

There was a moment's pause at the other end before an excited voice asked,

"Professor Lupin? Is that you?"

Remus looked at Sirius again who had covered the distance between them and was standing at his side, looking confused and still sceptical.

"This is Remus Lupin." Remus confirmed. "Can you confirm who you are?"

The sound of a chuckle came from the other end.

"Professor Lupin, it's me, Harry!" came the response.

Remus looked at the Harry standing in the room.

"Can you prove it?" he spoke into the phone.

"Erm, I don't know," Harry answered. "Ask me something."

Remus took a minute to think up a suitable question, one that would prove he was really speaking to his Harry.

"You know that I'm a werewolf?" Remus asked.

"Yes" came the answer.

"How and where did you find this out?" Remus asked.

"Hermione told me in the Shrieking Shack the night I met Sirius." came the answer. "It was in my Third year, the night Peter got away."

Remus turned to face Sirius, a smile forcing its way onto his face.

"That night Sirius escaped from Hogwarts. How?" Remus asked.

"Me and Hermione used the time turner she was given so she could take more classes. We used the time turner to go back in time and saved Buckbeak from being executed, before helping Sirius to escape with Buckbeak." After a pause, he asked. "How is Buckbeak?"

Sirius grabbed the phone from Remus before he could answer.

"Harry! Harry, are you okay?" he asked, shouting a little louder than necessary.

"I'm fine, how are you, Sirius?" came the response.

"Where are you?" Sirius asked ignoring the question he was asked.

"What?" Harry sounded surprised. "You don't know where I am?" he asked. "Didn't Harry tell you?"

Sirius suddenly looked up at the Harry standing before him. Remus looked around at him too. An awkward silence folded down on them. Finally, Sirius managed to speak.

"Yeah, he did but…"

"You didn't believe him." Harry's voice echoed around them. "I guess it is pretty unbelievable."

Harry ducked his head, a small smile on his face.

"So, you're really in another dimension?" Sirius asked quietly, moving towards the sofa, away from the other Harry.

"Yep" Harry replied.

"How did this happen?" Remus asked, following Sirius and leaning in to speak into the phone.

"It's a long story," Harry laughed. "Wait a minute, Sirius. You and Professor Lupin _have_ to talk with someone."

There was a pause and the background noise coming from the phone suggested doors opening and closing and two pairs of footsteps hurrying.

"Sirius, hang on, okay?" came Harry's voice.

"Okay" Sirius replied, sharing a look with Remus.

Muffled talking followed, making Sirius and Remus frown, trying to make out what was being said.

"…just talk!" came Harry's excited voice.

"Alright, Hello?"

Sirius stilled as the voice echoed around him. Remus was motionless too.

"Hello? Hello?" the voice repeated.

Sirius slowly sank into his seat, the phone clutched in his hand.

"Prongs?" he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

A pause before James' voice sounded again.

"Padfoot? Is that you?" he asked.

Remus sat down next to Sirius silently.

"Yeah, it…it's me." Sirius choked out.

"Oh Merlin! Sirius, how are you?" James asked.

"James?" Sirius repeated, still very much in shock.

"It's really me, Sirius." James said quietly, his tone softening.

"I…I never thought I would...talk to you, again." Sirius said.

"Yeah, Harry told me…what happened in your world." James said, his voice quiet now, no trace of any laughter.

"James…everything went wrong," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Everything! You and Lily…and…and Peter! He…he went to…!"

"I know, I know everything. Harry told me what Peter did." James cut across. "You don't have to say anything."

"It was all my fault." Sirius confessed. "I shouldn't have made you switch to Peter. I'm sorry, James! I always wanted a chance to apologise, I'm so sorry! It was all my fault!"

Remus put a hand on Sirius' shoulder, trying to calm him.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You were only trying to keep us safe. I know that." James replied.

"How did you survive?" Sirius asked suddenly. "That night, Voldemort! How did you get away? And Lily! Is she okay? She didn't…?"

"No, Lily's fine. She's out right now." James replied. "I should probably check her quarters, she might have returned."

"Her quarters? Where are you?" Sirius asked.

"Hogwarts. Lily teaches Potions."

Sirius turned to face Remus, sharing a smile.

"Sounds like Lily flower got the perfect job. She always loved giving lectures and bossing people around." Sirius said, laughing now.

"She only got better and louder with age." James laughed too.

"I'll tell her you said that." Remus added, leaning in to speak.

"Moony?! You're there too? How are you?" James asked, sounding excited again.

"Feels like I'm dreaming." Remus confessed.

James laughed again, making the other two marauders grin like they used to when they were at school.

"It's good to hear your voice again." Remus said softly.

"I would say the same except I hear both of your voices every day." James replied.

"Really?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I used to, when we worked together. But ever since I started working at Hogwarts…"

"Whoa! You work at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.

"Did Filch finally retire?" Remus asked with his mischievous smirk.

"Yeah, and you've taken over!" James returned.

"Really?" Sirius asked.

"No!" James laughed. "Moony is still an Auror, like you."

Remus looked surprised and exchanged looks with Sirius.

"And what do you do?" Remus asked.

"I used to be an Auror. Now I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts." James replied and the two friends could hear the note of pride in his voice.

"Oh, got thrown out of the Ministry?" Remus asked, grinning again.

"What prank did we pull?" Sirius asked, smiling happily.

"No, it wasn't anything like that." James paused for a minute before asking, "and that reminds me, where's Harry?"

It took Remus and Sirius a few moments to understand what James was talking about. The question brought them crashing back to their own world and the present situation they were in. Both turned around to look at the doorway but Harry was no longer there.

xxx

Sirius opened the kitchen door and sighed with relief when he saw the raven haired boy sitting at the wooden table. Harry looked up and offered a small smile.

"Hey, finished?" he asked, pointing to the phone in Sirius' hand.

Sirius looked down at the phone, the strange device that allowed him to talk with his friend in another universe.

"Yeah" he said. He turned and yelled down the hallway, "Moony, we're in the kitchen."

Harry winced as the shrill shrieking of Mrs Black started almost at once. Sirius winced too, looking sheepishly at Harry.

"Guess I shouldn't have done that." he said. Harry shook his head, both in acknowledgment of what Sirius had said and in amusement. "Moony will get her to shut up." Sirius said walking into the kitchen and shutting the door firmly behind him.

He walked over towards Harry but hesitated to sit down. Harry tilted his head to the side a little and stared at Sirius.

"Don't tell me you still don't believe me?" he said.

Sirius shook his head.

"It's not that. It's…I still can't believe this is happening." He confessed.

Harry shrugged, wincing at the pain throbbing in his shoulder.

"Stranger things have happened." He commented.

"No, I think this one takes the cake." Sirius said. He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Why did you leave the room?" he asked as placed the phone in the middle of the scrubbed wooden table.

Harry reached over and took the phone, pocketing it quickly.

"I thought some privacy was in order." He replied.

Sirius' eyes caught sight of the wound and he suddenly got up, warming up some water and taking out a towel. He went over to a small drawer and pulled it open, rummaging through it for supplies. He pulled out some cotton wool and gauze. He set the things down onto the table.

"You should probably…" he gestured to the blood stained robes.

Harry started peeling off his robes as Sirius went over to the stove and brought the hot water kettle over to the table. Just as Harry pulled off his blood stained vest, Remus walked inside.

"See your bloody mother…!" he stopped when he saw Harry, his eyes darting to the bite wound, assessing the damage.

He walked over to him, picking up the cotton wool and the bowl which Sirius had just filled with hot water.

"Your lucky Hellhounds don't have poisonous bites." He commented as he started cleaning the wound.

Harry didn't say anything; he was too busy clenching his teeth together to deal with the pain. Sirius pushed a small vial towards him. Harry took it, recognising the pain relief potion. He downed it in one go.

"Thanks" he said, feeling the ache dull down at once.

"James wanted to speak with you." Sirius said quietly.

"I'll call dad later." Harry replied.

Both Remus and Sirius stilled when Harry said the word 'dad'. Remus continued cleaning and dressing the wound. Sirius was sitting with his head bowed.

"I'm sorry." Sirius said, making Harry look over at him. It seemed to take a lot for Sirius to look Harry in the eye. "I'm sorry for the way I acted." He continued.

"Sirius…" Harry started.

"I should have given you a chance to explain. Instead I acted rash and…I nearly…hurt you." The guilt in Sirius' voice was overwhelming.

"But you didn't." Harry quickly said.

Sirius looked at Harry with remorse filled eyes.

"I used the Cruciatus curse against you. It was thanks to Moony that it missed, otherwise…" he shivered. "It almost hit you." He whispered.

It was Harry's turn to cast his eyes away.

"Yeah, almost." He whispered, pushing away a certain memory; Sirius on the ground convulsing in sheer agony and himself standing over him, holding the curse in place.

Remus halted in his work, picking up the guilt in Harry's voice. He looked over at Sirius but he was too far gone in his own remorse to have noticed.

"James asked me to…to look after you. He explained about the compass and that it would get fixed soon. But until then, he asked if we could watch over you." Sirius shook his head again. "If he knew how I behaved with you…"

"You were only trying to protect Harry. You didn't do anything wrong." Harry cut across. "Talking of which, what are you going to say to the rest of the Order?"

Sirius looked over at Remus.

"The truth," Remus answered. "What else?"

"And do you think they'll believe you?" Harry asked.

"They'll have to." Sirius answered.

Remus finished dressing the wound.

"That should hold until the morning. Poppy can do things properly tomorrow when you go back to Hogwarts." he said. Harry looked at him questioningly. "We'll talk with Dumbledore in the morning and explain everything." Remus continued.

"That sounds like a plan." Harry said with a smile.

Remus cleared away the supplies and sat down.

"Um, do you want to eat something?" Sirius asked uncertainly.

"I'm good." Harry returned.

Remus got up and made some tea, setting three steaming mugs onto the table. They drank in silence until Remus spoke.

"So are you going to tell us?"

Harry lowered his cup, frowning.

"Tell you what?"

"What happened in your world? Why things are so different?" Remus elaborated.

"You didn't ask dad?" Harry asked.

"We sort of got sidetracked." Sirius admitted, a grin appearing on his thin face.

"How did James and Lily survive?" Remus asked. "What event was it that changed? Did…did Peter not betray them?" he asked, hopefulness filling his voice.

Harry considered his words very carefully.

"Peter didn't give away our location. Voldemort never came to Godric's Hollow."

Sirius and Remus both grinned in obvious relief.

"He didn't betray them! I can't believe it!" Remus sighed.

Harry avoided looking at them and focused on drinking his tea.

"So tell us about you." Sirius said, smiling like his usual self now. "You must have had some childhood, growing up under James' _supervision_." Sirius chuckled. "He's nothing but a big kid himself!"

Harry nodded, eyes still on the table.

"Yeah, it was…something." He replied quietly.

Again Remus picked up on the hidden emotions in Harry's answer but Sirius, not noticing anything, pushed on with his questions.

"Did you grow up in Godric's Hollow?" he asked.

Harry shifted, clearly uncomfortable now.

"No, we…we moved. Mum always wanted her own lab and Godric's Hollow wasn't big enough. And Damien wanted his own Quidditch Pitch so…"

"Damien?" Remus asked.

Harry looked up to meet his eyes and Remus saw the change in his expression at once. His emerald eyes were clear and bright now and the smile on his face was genuine.

"Yeah, Damien Potter, my younger brother."

Both Remus and Sirius were not expecting that. They stared at Harry in stunned surprise.

"You have a brother?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded.

"Any other siblings?" Remus asked.

"No, just the one." Harry replied, grinning now.

"Harry, what about Voldemort?" Remus asked. "What happened to him? Is he still trying to gain power in your world?"

Harry looked away again and shifted in his seat.

"No, he's not." He replied.

"What do you mean? What stopped him?" Remus pushed.

Harry started to get up from his seat.

"It's really late and I've had quite an excitement filled day. Can we talk in the morning?"

"Yeah, sure." Remus said, noting the changes in his behaviour.

"I'll get you something to wear." Sirius said, retreating from the room.

"Night, Harry." Remus said.

"Night" Harry replied, gathering his blood covered robes and leaving the kitchen, without looking at Remus.

The werewolf stayed in his seat, going over all the things he had noticed about this Harry. He knew that Harry may not have lied about his identity, but he was definitely not telling the whole truth.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review!!! Thanks!!


	35. Half Truths and Full Lies

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews!! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty Five **

_**AU World **_

James waited patiently for both his sons to return. He glanced at the stone bowl sitting on his coffee table before turning his gaze back to the essays he was supposed to be marking. He let out a sigh as he picked up his quill and began grading the homework.

It was after he had marked a quarter of the essays in total that the stone pensieve shook a little. James looked up just as Damien and Harry hurtled out of the basin. Both boys landed on the sofa, which James had moved as to catch them.

James got up and came around to face his sons. Both looked a little pale and clearly upset.

"Are you okay?" James asked, sitting down, addressing both boys.

Harry shared a look with Damien, both boys looking like they could be sick at any time.

"I can't…I can't believe, that…that happened." Damien said. He squeezed his hazel eyes shut, bringing up his hands to rub at his face.

"This is why I didn't want you two to see that memory." James said, feeling his heart twist at Damien's reaction.

Damien brought down his hands, shaking his head.

"I still don't see why he would do that? Why did Hagrid react like that?"

James didn't answer. He looked over at Harry. The raven haired boy was sitting with his hands drawn up and resting against his mouth. It looked like he was willing himself not to be sick. Dumbledore had restored the glamour charm so Harry was back to looking like his other dimensional self.

"I warned you the memory would make you feel bad." James reminded them. "But you insisted on seeing it. Now you have, so you can move on."

"It doesn't answer anything." Harry said quietly, moving his hands away from his mouth. "The memory offered no answers, only more questions. Why was Hagrid protecting the Giants when they were in the process of an attack? How could he disobey Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, still in disbelief.

"He only reacted when that Auror killed the giant approaching them. Hagrid just lost it." Damien said, remembering the way Hagrid had almost torn that Auror apart with his bare hands.

"I didn't think Hagrid could do that, to anyone." Harry said, feeling his stomach roll at the memory of the attack the half giant had leashed on that Auror.

"He killed that Auror, didn't he, dad?" Damien asked.

James nodded his head. He didn't want to discuss this with his sons but he knew they wouldn't rest until they had all the answers.

"Hagrid was trying to explain something to Professor Dumbledore. He wasn't fighting with anyone. It was only after the Aurors stared killing the Giants that Hagrid lost it." Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "Why would Hagrid do that when he could see what the Giants were doing? He could see that the Giants would've killed the Aurors if they didn't attack. It makes no sense."

"I already told you none of it made any sense, Harry. Hagrid's actions can't be explained." He looked over at Harry's grim, yet determined expression. "You both promised me that after watching this memory, you both would stop investigating Hagrid's death. Are you going to keep that promise?" he asked.

Harry and Damien shared another look. After a moment or two, both nodded, albeit unhappily. James relaxed glad that his sons wouldn't put themselves into anymore danger investigating a closed case. He did feel bad for them though, both looked so miserable.

"Hey, come on guys." He tried. "I know that what you saw was upsetting but, but it can't be changed. Don't be like this, okay?"

"It's fine, dad. We'll be fine." Harry assured.

James made both boys a cup of hot chocolate before reluctantly returning to his desk to resume his grading. He glanced over to the whispering boys every so often. He knew they were upset that they got no answers from watching the memory of Hagrid's death. He had already warned them of that.

A part of him wished they had found something, anything that would have made it easier to understand what had happened that day. He himself had searched for answers. Shortly after Hagrid's death, James, Remus, Sirius and a few other Order members had searched around, trying to gather information that may offer an explanation of Hagrid's actions. Despite being there at the time and seeing Hagrid's defence of the rampaging Giants and his frenzied attack on the Auror, they still wanted to find a way to explain it all. An explanation that didn't condemn Hagrid. But they found nothing. It was at last Dumbledore's orders that stopped them from looking for answers and accept what had happened.

James glanced back at the two boys sitting on the sofa. He saw Harry looking at the pensieve with a strange expression. He hoped the two boys kept their promise and stopped looking for answers that just weren't there.

xxx

Harry knocked on his dad's door frowning when it failed to be answered. He knocked again, harder and louder this time. There was still no answer. He tried the doorknob but it wouldn't budge under his fingertips.

"That's odd." Harry muttered to himself.

He turned from the door and headed towards his mum's quarters. He found that the door to her quarters was locked too. He headed up to the Great Hall, trying to figure out where both his parents had disappeared to. It was a Sunday and usually, his parents had the whole day planned with him, starting with breakfast in James' quarter.

As Harry turned the corner he caught sight of Damien, heading towards him.

"Where are you going?" Damien asked.

"The Great Hall, I think mum and dad might be there." Harry replied.

Damien looked surprised.

"It's a Sunday." He said. "We don't eat in the Hall on Sundays." He reminded him.

"They're not in their rooms," Harry explained. "Their doors are locked."

Damien joined Harry and headed for the Great Hall, still confused at the change in their weekly routine. However, at arriving at the Great Hall, they found that their parents weren't there either.

"Where are they?" Damien muttered, more to himself than Harry.

Harry's eyes scanned the staff table.

"Professor Dumbledore is not here either." He said, his eyes scanning over the Headmaster's empty chair. "Come on." he told Damien and exited the Great Hall, heading for the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Damien asked again, chasing after him.

"To the office, maybe Professor Dumbledore is talking with mum and dad."

The two boys reached the stone gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office. Usually, Harry's mere shadow on the gargoyle would cause it to leap aside, revealing the spiral staircase. Harry had figured Dumbledore had purposefully set this up, so if the Harry of this universe ever had any reason to go to him, he could without guessing the password.

However, today the gargoyle stayed put, denying the two boys entry.

"What is going on today?!" Harry exclaimed, eyeing the gargoyle angrily. "Why is it not moving?"

Damien just shrugged, not having an answer.

"Maybe he's not in. The office could be locked." He helpfully suggested.

Harry thought about this. It was possible. He didn't think the gargoyle would give access to the office if Dumbledore was not in, would it?

"If he's not in, then that means he's missing too, along with mum and dad." Harry said.

Damien looked alarmed at his words. His eyes darted to the gargoyle and then back to Harry.

"Don't say it like that," Damien muttered.

Harry looked back at the gargoyle, feeling his heart clench painfully. He knew something wasn't right, he could feel it.

xxx

It was past noon when at last, Harry caught sight of his mum and dad. He stopped mid pace and turned around when there was a knock on the door before it opened and James and Lily walked into the quarters.

"Where have you guys been?" Harry asked relieved beyond belief at seeing his parents again.

"You've been gone the whole morning!" Damien added getting up from his seat.

"Sorry, it was sort of unplanned." Lily replied.

Harry noticed both his parents looked tired but they seemed happy, small smiles graced their faces.

"Where did you two go?" Harry asked.

James and Lily walked over to Harry's sofa and sat down, gesturing to the two boys to do the same.

"We got an urgent summon this morning." James started, as soon as Harry and Damien sat down. "It was from the Minister. He wanted to speak to me and Lily."

"About what?" Harry asked, feeling dread build in the pit of his stomach.

"About you." James answered simply.

At Harry's nervous expression, Lily rushed to explain.

"Don't worry, it all worked out in the end."

"What worked out?" Damien asked before Harry could.

"It turns out, the security orb in the Repossession Chamber didn't just show Blake for what he really was, it gave you away too." James said, looking at Harry. "At first, the Aurors that checked the orb thought you were a friend of Damien's. They didn't recognise you. But when they heard Damien call out to you as 'Harry' and they caught a clear image of your face, they realised you were Harry Potter."

Harry looked over at Damien, whose face had just rapidly lost colour. He looked back at Harry and shook his head.

"God I…I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't think…"

"It's okay, Damy. You were in a life threatening situation. No one expects you to have reacted any differently." Lily comforted.

"So, what did the Minister say?" Harry asked, his rapid heartbeat almost deafening him.

"He wanted an explanation." James said with a sigh. "He wanted to know what was going on, why you looked different and about a million other questions."

"Did you tell him?" Harry asked quietly.

"We had to," James answered. "I know that in order to get to the Chamber you both would have passed through the sensors and they would have lifted any charms on you. I couldn't lie to Diggory and say you were charmed to look different. He would know that couldn't be the case."

"So you told him the truth?" Damien asked, hazel eyes wide with shock.

"Yes," James answered. "I told him the truth."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. He sat staring at his father, trying to ascertain if he was joking or not.

"You told the Minister I was from another dimension." Harry asked to be certain.

James nodded.

"I did."

"And he believed you?" Damien asked with a snort.

"Well, I reckon he wouldn't have if his son hadn't mentioned to him about a paper he read on the theoretical probability of dimension travelling." Lily said, a small smile on her face. "Diggory believes anything that his son believes. I always said I liked that boy." She grinned.

"Cedric?" Harry asked.

"Yep, it turns out the girl Cedric is seeing attended a seminar or something that brushed over the theoretical ability of dimensional travelling. She was interested and looked up the subject and told her boyfriend, Cedric about it. He must have mentioned something to his father in passing and that was what allowed Diggory to believe we were telling the truth." Lily said.

"He wasn't…mad?" Damien asked.

"No, on the contrary," James laughed. "He was excited that someone had proved dimension travelling is possible, and safe." He added. His expression changed suddenly to a serious one and he lowered his eyes. "However, he also said that universal equilibriums were not to be tested. You and Harry swapping dimensions could have a detrimental effect on both worlds. He has asked for you to return to your world."

Harry didn't say anything but lowered his gaze to the ground.

"We explained about the compass and Diggory contacted Dumbledore and asked him to join us. Dumbledore arrived and explained all he could about how the compass works and what the current situation is with it." Lily said. "At first, Diggory wanted the Ministry to take control over the compass. He was demanding to know where the compass was but Dumbledore managed to convince him to let the compass be where it is for now. Diggory has agreed to allow the compass to remain under Dumbledore's care but as soon as it is fixed and you and Harry swap places, he wants the compass to be handed into the Ministry."

"They'll have to try and take it away from Harry." Damien said with one eyebrow raised. "He's not going to give the Ministry the compass. It belonged to Voldemort."

The room suddenly quietened down to an eerie silence. Both James and Lily looked uncomfortable with the mention of the Dark Lord's name. Harry looked over at Damien to see him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"I'm just saying…" he mumbled, embarrassed at causing the awkwardness.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes." Lily spoke, finally. "Harry will just have to…understand."

James looked up at the Harry sitting opposite him but then looked away again, a strange look of longing on his face.

"So, what did the Minister say about Harry in the meantime?" Damien asked.

"He wants him to remain under the glamour charm. The Aurors that witnessed the orb have been instructed to keep quiet about what they saw. Diggory insisted Harry's truth be kept hidden as it may attract unwanted attention. He knows that there are plenty of people who may attack him if they were to learn the truth about his origins." James explained. Looking over at Harry he added in a gentler voice. "Not that I would ever let anyone come near you."

Harry smiled at James and ducked his head again.

"So, Harry is still a secret?" Damien asked in astonishment.

"Yep, he's still a secret." James answered with a smile.

"Yeah, a secret that only you, mum, dad, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Professor Dumbledore, Minister Diggory and God knows how many other Aurors know about." Harry said sarcastically.

"You forgot Blake." Damien added.

xxx

The weeks went by quickly, taking away the dreary cold of February and bringing the warmer, sunnier days of March. Harry happily fell into the routine his parents had set up for him. He attended all the classes with the Fifth year Gryffindors and continued his evening tutoring with James and Lily.

His private lessons with Damien continued and Harry was proud of his growing skill in wandless magic. He found that Adrenaline was the key. In the Repossession Chamber, he was only able to perform wandless magic and summon the broom to himself because of the Adrenaline that was pumping in his veins at the time. He used the memory of Blake and all the other memories he had of near death experiences to feel the rush of Adrenaline power through him and succeeded in completing whatever task Damien set out for him.

"I told you, you were good!" Damien laughed as they walked back from the Room of Requirement one evening.

Harry ran a hand through his messy locks, a grin on his face. They headed towards Harry's quarters. Harry and Damien tried to spend most of their time in the Gryffindor common room. That way Damien got a chance to hang out with his friends and Harry got a chance to act a little like his normal self, a fifteen year old Gryffindor student relaxing in his common room. Of course he had to keep up pretences in front of the rest of Gryffindor but it was worth the trouble to be able to sit in his common room.

But sometimes they needed privacy to be able to talk properly, so at those times, the two Potter boys chose to hang out in Harry's quarters. Both boys walked inside and settled before the dying fire, talking quietly about their on going training.

"I reckon you'll get the non verbal bit down soon." Damien said, stretching his legs before him.

"I would probably have already got it if you could explain it properly." Harry teased.

Damien threw him a playful glare.

"It's not my fault you can't understand simple instructions." He replied.

"Simple?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "How simple is, _it's like whispering but only in your head_? How can you tell if you're whispering if it's only mentally?"

Damien huffed at him and closed his eyes, hands tucked behind his head.

"Whatever Harry." He sighed.

A knock on the door drew the boys' attention. Damien had opened his eyes and sat up a little straighter.

"It's open." Harry yelled out.

The door opened and an unexpected guest revealed herself.

"Hermione!" both Harry and Damien greeted, getting to their feet.

Hermione smiled and walked inside, closing the door.

"It's so nice to get a warm welcome." She commented. "Usually when I come into a room I get, _oh great, her again!_" she grinned.

"Who says that?" Harry asked.

"Probably Ron." Damien joked.

Hermione swatted him on the arm. She turned to look at Harry, a bright smile on her face.

"I've been waiting ages for you two to come back." She said.

"Really? How long have you been here?" Harry asked. He didn't usually get visits from her.

"I came just over an hour ago. I've been sitting with Professor Potter, your mum," she reiterated, "waiting for you two."

"Why? Is everything okay?" Damien asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, everything's fine. Actually, things are better than fine." She smiled again, excitement gleaming in her eyes. "I haven't said anything to Professors' Potter. I wanted you two to be the first to know." she continued.

"Know what?" Harry asked.

Hermione laughed a little, clearly excited now.

"It's done, it's completed," she beamed. "The compass is working."

---

_**Canon World**_

It was early in the morning, perhaps just after daybreak, when Harry awoke to a gentle knocking on his door. He got up and out of his bed, walking quickly over to open the door. The sight that greeted him was a tired looking Remus.

"Sorry for waking you up so early, Harry." Remus apologised, looking genuinely regretful.

"It's okay," Harry quickly answered. "What's wrong?"

Remus looked towards the stairs, his gaze going beyond them, to the room downstairs. Harry heard the quiet murmur of several voices coming from that direction. Remus turned his gaze back to Harry.

"We informed Dumbledore this morning. He asked for an urgent meeting." He explained.

Harry didn't say anything but his gaze went back to the ground floor, to the room filled with Order members.

"Could you get dressed and come downstairs?" Remus asked quietly.

Harry looked back at him and then nodded.

"Give me five minutes." He replied and closed the door.

Remus walked down the stairs and into the room, usually reserved for Order meetings.

"He'll be down in five minutes." He told the room at large.

Dumbledore nodded politely and returned his focus back to his intertwined fingers. Some of the other Order members however, were not so courteous.

"Great! Give him time to run away!" Moody grumbled.

"He's not going anywhere." Sirius answered, shooting Moody an annoyed glare. "We've already told you, he's not an enemy. He has no reason to run from us."

"Funny, he was doing just that yesterday!" Moody snapped back.

"We already explained about yesterday!" Sirius yelled back. "He had no other choice! He asked for a chance to explain but no one gave it to him. He had to run!"

Moody banged a fist on the table and stood up.

"And what was he going to explain to us? This…this bogus story about dimension swaps!?" he spat angrily. "Wake up, Black! The boy is an impostor and he's using you and Lupin, playing you both! I say we go upstairs right now and arrest him!"

"It's hard to believe, I admit," Remus sighed. "But it's the truth. He really is an alternate form of Harry Potter." He had repeated this nearly twenty times to Moody. He knew it was only Dumbledore's order to stay put that was stopping the ex Auror from thundering upstairs to apprehend Harry.

"How can you believe such a far fetched story?" Jones asked with raised eyebrows.

"Because they spoke to James Potter." Snape suddenly answered.

The room quietened down, the only sound that could be heard was Sirius' low growls.

Dumbledore had already relayed to all of them what Remus and Sirius had told him, happened last night. The Order meeting was set up urgently so that this news could be shared at once. However, not all of the members fully believed Remus and Sirius, thinking that the two could be easily fooled.

"Don't you dare say his name Snape!" Sirius hissed at him.

The greasy haired Professor merely glanced at Sirius before sneering at him, not offering any verbal return.

"It's sick, what he's doing!" Tonks said, shaking her head. "Using…him…the memory of James Potter, like that!"

"It was James," Remus replied, his tone hardening now with having to repeat himself so many times. "We spoke to James, it wasn't a trick."

"How can you know for certain?" McGonagall asked. "After all, if what the boy said is true, then you would have spoken to James Potter in _another universe_. Such communication is not possible."

"And certainly not using muggle equipment." Jones added.

"I don't know how it is possible or why he's using a muggle phone to communicate but all I know is that we spoke to James last night." Remus said.

"I can mistake a lot of things," Sirius said, ignoring Snape's sneering expression. "But I wouldn't mistake James' voice. It was him, really him."

"You're playing right into his hands." Moody said, shaking his head. "Can't you see it? He's using you, your weakness to gain your trust. He tricked you somehow, by making you think you spoke to your friend. That boy is lying to you!"

"Alastor," Dumbledore finally spoke, looking up at the man. "That is not necessary." He told him.

"Albus! You don't believe them, do you?" Moody asked, looking appalled that the legendary wizard could believe such a made up story.

"I think it is prudent to speak to this Harry first, before making up our minds as to if he is lying or not. We must speak with him and gain important answers."

"Go ahead," a voice said from the doorway. Everyone turned to see the raven haired boy. "What do you want to know?" Harry asked.

xxx

Harry sat down in the seat Remus offered. He glanced around the room, at the Order members of this universe. He saw Arthur and Molly sitting at the end of the table, both staring at him. Moody was still standing, breathing heavily through his deformed nose. Tonks was sitting just on Moody's right, supporting a rather large bruise on her nose. Harry looked away guiltily.

Several other witches and wizards were sitting around the table, all staring at Harry with a mixture of interest and apprehension. McGonagall and Snape were sitting on either side of Dumbledore. Harry quickly glanced past Snape, the memory of what he had done to him only a day before was fresh on his mind. Dumbledore was looking at Harry with serene calmness. As if he had merely stopped by to visit him.

Harry looked directly at him, his expressionless mask in place.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" he asked.

Moody looked like he was ready to burst. He shook his head, making his grisly hair flail around his face.

"Oh, we'll ask you plenty! First, you take this!" he slammed a small vial onto the table.

Harry smiled at the sight of, the now very familiar, potion vial.

"Do you excrete that stuff?" he asked Moody. "It seems you have a never ending supply of Vertiserum."

Moody's only response was to push the vial closer to Harry. Before Harry could say anymore, Sirius picked up the vial.

"He's not taking this." he said, throwing the vial of truth potion away.

"We can't trust what he has to say without the potion." Moody hissed at him.

"_You_ can't, perhaps but the rest can." Sirius looked around the room at the other members. "If any of you don't believe him, that's too bad. Harry's not going to be interrogated." Sirius said firmly.

"We didn't ask you all to come here so you can treat Harry like a criminal," Remus added.

"But we need proof that he's telling the truth." A wizard with a tall purple hat said.

"He gave us proof. We told you that we spoke to James. If you don't believe Harry's telling the truth then that means you don't believe us either." Sirius growled back.

Harry stayed silent, listening to his dad's best friends fight for him. The members were arguing between themselves, some taking Sirius' side like the Weasleys and others demanding questioning under Vertiserum. Finally Dumbledore raised a hand, quietening the room.

Leaning over the table, Dumbledore addressed the silent boy.

"Harry," everyone looked in surprise at Dumbledore, including Harry. Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. "I know and believe that you are Harry Potter. I have tested your aura numerous times at Hogwarts. I know that you are telling the truth."

Harry was surprised but he hid it well. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, staring at Dumbledore.

"If you believe me, then why have you called this meeting?" he asked.

"It was important." Dumbledore answered. "I wanted everyone to know the truth about you."

Harry felt his heart miss several beats but he kept a hold of his expressionless mask. He smiled as innocently as he could.

"And what is that?" he asked.

"I was hoping you enlighten us." Dumbledore returned.

Harry let out a mental sigh when he realised Dumbledore didn't know anything about him. He was only asking for Harry to share his life events with them.

The rest of the room was watching the two converse in complete silence. Even Moody had sat down, now that Dumbledore confirmed he believed the boy before them was indeed Harry Potter.

"What do you want to know?" Harry asked, still holding onto his mask of indifference.

"I think if we start from the beginning," Dumbledore said. His eyes fixed to Harry's as he asked, "I am certain you have learned the events that took place in this world, fourteen years ago?"

Harry's mask slipped then and for a moment, his anger was visible.

"Yes," he ground out between clenched teeth. "I did."

Dumbledore nodded, seemingly not noticing Harry's anger.

"As Remus and Sirius said, they spoke to James last night, so it is correct to assume that those events did not take place in your world." his eyes bore into Harry's as he asked the next question. "What happened that Halloween night? What change was it that modified history and saved James and Lily's lives?"

"He never found them," Harry answered. "Voldemort was never given our location."

The occupants of the room bristled as the Dark Lord's name was spoken but that was the only reaction. They kept silent and waited to learn more.

"So Peter never betrayed James?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry's fists were clenched tight under the table. With great effort he spoke, his voice trembling only slightly.

"No," he said looking straight into Dumbledore's eyes. "He didn't."

The words were forced out with such difficulty Harry was certain no one would believe him. But no one seemed to have noticed as they shared smiles and looks of relief with one another. Dumbledore shared a look too, but his was not one of relief. He looked to his right, at Snape and both wizards seemed to communicate without words. Snape looked away, a crease on his forehead.

"Did Voldemort not try to get to you by other means?" Dumbledore asked, his tone changing ever so slightly.

"Why would he?" Harry asked, directing all his anger into his voice. "What could he possibly want from me?"

Harry knew Dumbledore wouldn't mention the Prophecy, not right now anyway. He kept his gaze locked with the Headmaster but the silver haired wizard didn't give in. Instead he asked him another question. One that Harry found difficult to answer.

"Is Voldemort still a threat in your world?"

Harry broke his gaze, looking away as he answered.

"No" he answered simply.

"Could you explain that?" McGonagall asked.

Harry shook his head slowly.

"There's not much to tell; he was killed."

"By whom?" Tonks asked, leaning forward across the table.

"Does it matter?" Harry asked angrily.

"Yes, I believe it does." McGonagall answered curtly.

Harry looked away, fists clenched so hard under the table he was sure his nails had cut into his palms.

Remus was looking at Harry carefully, noting the way his eyes seem to smoulder in anger at the mention of Voldemort's name. It was a different anger to the one his Harry usually showed when talking about his enemy. This Harry seemed more enraged when discussing Voldemort, or was it the mention of the dark wizard's death that caused the spark of rage in him?

"If I have understood you properly, it is correct to assume that in your world, Voldemort never fell." Dumbledore asked. "He never got to Godric's Hollow that Halloween night, he never killed James and Lily and so his killing curse aimed at you never rebounded and hit him." he watched Harry carefully but his expressionless mask was back in place. Dumbledore leaned back with a sigh. "I can only imagine how much his power must have grown. It would have been an exceptional battle to defeat him."

Again Harry gave no visible reaction to Dumbledore's words.

"How did you travel to this dimension?" Kingsley asked, changing the topic.

"I used a compass, the Kayanat." Harry answered.

Dumbledore's eyes brightened suddenly and he looked in surprise at Harry.

"Interesting," he murmured. "And where did you acquire such a rare artefact as the Kayanat?"

Harry smirked at him.

"I found it…lying around." he answered.

"Rubbish!" Moody hissed out, failing once again to reign in his temper.

"The Kayanat is a powerful, extraordinary artefact that _you_ in your wildest daydreams couldn't hope to activate!" he hissed out.

"Oh it wasn't me that activated it." Harry smirked openly. "It was my younger brother."

Moody was fit to burst with anger. His hand was trembling with the effort to not reach for his wand. His eyes, both magical and normal, were fixed on Harry with such scrutiny; it was as if he were trying to pierce a hole in him.

"You have a brother?" Tonks asked, looking more and more relaxed now.

Harry nodded.

"Damien," Sirius stated, a smile on his thin face. "We heard his voice yesterday." He told the room.

"I have one question I would like to ask." McGonagall said, ignoring Sirius. "Why did you come to this dimension?"

"It was never intended. As I said before, my brother activated the Kayanat, and both of us ended up in this dimension. We were transported straight inside Privet Drive where we met the Harry of this universe." Harry explained, much more at ease now. "We shared life stories and after hearing about what happened to him I thought it would be good for him to go to my world and meet his parents."

The occupants of the room were all quiet. Molly looked close to tears. Even Moody was finding it hard to pick a fight at this point.

"It was only supposed to be for a few days but then the compass failed to work so we were stuck in each others worlds." Harry finished.

Snape let out a sound that was very close to a snort. It was the only sound he had made since Harry arrived in the room.

Harry ignored him.

"So is the Kayanat still not working?" Tonks asked.

"It's in the process of being investigated." Harry told her. "I'm told it should be fixed soon."

"You should have come to Professor Dumbledore the moment you realised you were going to be here for longer than expected." McGonagall said in her usual strict voice.

"Why?" Harry asked.

McGonagall looked lost for words. She looked at Harry with wide eyes before turning to look at Dumbledore.

"Why should I tell anyone? I came in this world on my own terms, I'll leave on my own terms." Harry said with a hardly discreet glower in Dumbledore's direction.

If Dumbledore saw Harry's expression, he didn't show it. He carried on asking Harry various questions, all which Harry answered with half truths. Finally, Dumbledore seemed to end his interview.

"I think it would be beneficial for you to return to Hogwarts today. It is best if everyone continues to believe you are the Harry belonging to this universe." He rose from his seat, prompting everyone else, except for Harry, to stand too. "A word of caution," he started, looking at Harry. "Try to keep the focus away from yourself. If the truth about your swap was revealed it would cause problems for you and for the Harry belonging to this universe."

Harry knew that much himself. That was why he had tried so hard to keep Dumbledore from knowing the truth. It would be next to impossible for the other Harry to return to a normal life once he came back to this universe, if the wizarding world knew he had visited another dimension. As far as Harry knew, they were the only ones to swap dimensions and survive for this long.

He nodded his head at Dumbledore. Just as Dumbledore turned from the table, Arthur spoke up behind him.

"Wait, I have a question."

Everyone stopped and watched as Arthur took a few steps nearer Harry. He opened his mouth to ask his question but seemed to lose his words. He clicked his mouth shut before trying again.

"Your Patronus?" he asked, his eyes searching Harry's face. "It was the same. It was the one that led Moody and Kingsley to me that night…at the Ministry. Moody and Kingsley recognised it." Harry didn't answer but felt his heart quicken suddenly. He didn't want this conversation, not here at the least. "It was you," Arthur said, the words more of a statement than a question. "You were the one to send that Patronus to get help, you saved my life."

Harry didn't answer, wishing the read haired man had waited until they were alone to ask his questions.

"How did you get to the Ministry that night?" Moody asked, his suspicions revived by Arthur. "You were in Hogwarts, were you not?"

"How did you know Arthur was attacked?" Jones asked.

Harry glanced at Remus and Sirius, both looked just as curious as the rest of the Order members. He purposefully didn't look at Dumbledore.

"I didn't know about the attack." Harry started. "It was the other Harry that knew about it. He called me and told me he had seen the attack on Mr Weasley."

The curiosity in the room was suddenly replaced by panic. Everyone's expressions betrayed their horror at his words. Dumbledore was giving Harry his full attention again.

"He saw the attack?" Tonks whispered. "But…how?"

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "He called me and told me he had a vision, he saw a snake attack Mr Weasley. He described the place he saw Mr Weasley fall and I knew it was the Ministry of Magic. I decided to go and check it out."

"How did you manage to get from Hogwarts to London so quickly?" Kingsley asked.

"I used a Thestral." Harry answered simply. "I saw them around Hogwarts and I used one to fly to London." Harry lied.

"You _flew_ to London?" McGonagall asked, in a clearly disbelieving tone.

"Yes." Harry answered as sincerely as he could.

"Why did you do that?" Moody asked. "You could have gone to Dumbledore and told him what happened."

"And how was I supposed to explain it?" Harry asked back. "I didn't see the vision. I only knew what Harry told me. I didn't have sufficient information…"

"So you decided flying to the Ministry of Magic in the middle of the night on a Thestral, was a better idea?" McGonagall asked, her nostrils flaring like they usually did when she got mad.

Harry shrugged.

"I wasn't thinking straight. I just wanted to check if Harry's vision was right."

The room quietened down. Moody and McGonagall were both glaring at Harry. Tonks looked a little uncertain as to how she should act, while Arthur and Molly were smiling at him. Finally, Dumbledore broke the silence.

"It is time we headed back to Hogwarts," he said to the two fellow Professors. He looked to Harry and addressed him. "Mr Potter, I would like to see you back at Hogwarts this morning."

Harry stood up, eyes fixed to Dumbledore's.

"I'll be there." he answered.

Dumbledore looked to Remus next.

"Remus, can I ask you to accompany Mr Potter and bring him to the castle by apparation?"

Remus nodded quickly.

"Of course."

Dumbledore nodded his thanks.

"Well, that is it, ladies and gentleman." His eyes met Harry's once more before he headed for the door. McGonagall and Snape followed him.

Harry felt the need to look away when Snape walked passed him. The man had not said a single word to Harry throughout the meeting and for some reason that bothered Harry more than he thought it would.

He watched them exit the room, followed by the other members of the Order. He turned around to see Molly walking over to him. She stopped before Harry, her eyes already brimming with tears. Before Harry could say a word, she engulfed him in one of her motherly hugs. She hugged him tightly, her tears falling down her cheeks as she sobbed.

"Thank you!" she whispered. She let go of him and looked up into his face. "For what you did for Arthur. I don't know what I would do if you hadn't…" she squeezed her eyes shut, spilling more tears down her cheeks. She sniffed loudly before opening her eyes again. "And thank you for what you did for Harry. For him to be able to meet his parents...it's so wonderful! You did a remarkable thing."

She left the room after that, sniffing loudly and holding onto Arthur's arm.

Harry watched her go, her words ringing inside his head.

xxx

Most of breakfast was over by the time Harry got to Hogwarts. He visited his empty dorm room to see that his things had been returned. His trunk sat at the bottom of his bed, looking like it had never been moved from its spot. Harry quickly dug out a clean set of school robes and changed before heading to the Great Hall.

He stepped through the doors, just as most students were getting up to start making the way to their first classes of the day. The students stopped in their tracks as Harry entered the hall. For the first few seconds, nothing happened. An eerie silence spread throughout the hall, bringing everyone's attention to Harry. The Professors looked up as well to spot the dark haired teen standing at the doors. Most looked surprised but none were more so than Professor Umbridge. Her eyes were wide and glued to Harry, her mousey hair seemed to stand on edge just by looking at him.

Harry's gaze scanned the hall, resting on the two anxious looking faces of Ron and Hermione. He walked towards them, ignoring the way his footsteps echoed horribly loud in the filled hall. He reached the Gryffindor table and sat down at his usual seat, opposite his two friends. It seemed that was all it took for the silence to break and the hall was once again filled with whispers and murmurs, albeit, now they were excited whispers.

"Welcome back." Ron whispered to Harry.

"That was fast," Hermione hushed in low tones. "I thought it would take longer for you to…come back."

Harry glanced around him to see most of his fellow housemates staring at him.

"Long story, I'll explain later."

It was just as well as the next instant Harry found himself surrounded by several Gryffindors.

"Glad to see you're back, Harry!" Dean said with a broad smile.

"Harry! Are you okay?!" Lavender asked.

"I heard you were pretty badly hurt. How did you get discharged so quickly?" a fourth year boy asked.

"I just wanted to say how brave I thought you were, fighting with those hellhounds!" a third year girl, with a long ponytail, said.

Harry responded back with a nod at all of them. It turned out that it wasn't only the Gryffindors that had well wishes for him. As soon as Harry got up to attend his first class, several students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff approached him, congratulating him on beating the monstrous Hellhounds and making a fast recovery in St Mungos. The only students not approaching Harry were the Slytherins. They just walked past Harry, choosing not even to look at him.

Harry however never noticed the Slytherins since he was distracted with the rest of the student body. He didn't know what to say to them and so just settled to give them one worded answers. He hurried to reach the first class, Charms, with Ron and Hermione rushing along with him.

"Harry!"

Harry stopped at the voice and turned around. He smiled at the sight of the red haired girl running to catch up with him. Slightly breathless, Ginny came to stop before Harry.

"How are you?" she asked, her brown eyes narrowed in worry.

"I'm fine," Harry answered still smiling. "nothing's wrong with me."

Ginny tilted her head a little to the side, seemingly examining him.

"Good," she answered simply. "I…we were worried." She changed her words quickly. "Professor Dumbledore said you were hurt and…"

"And rumours started that only exaggerated everything." Harry finished. He smiled at her again. "Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."

Ginny shifted her book bag on her shoulder and looked away from Harry's eyes, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Okay, well. I…I've got to get to class so…I'll catch up with you later."

Harry nodded at her and watched as she turned and started making her way to the other side of the corridor. He turned around to see both Ron and Hermione staring at him.

"What?" he asked with a shrug.

"Why does Ginny get a full conversation when others get only head nods?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged and walked past them.

"Maybe it's because I don't mind her asking as much." he answered.

Ron and Hermione shared a surprised look. Hermione turned to look at Harry, a suspicious look filling her eyes.

"How come?" she asked.

Harry didn't answer her and walked into the classroom. Ron and Hermione followed, slightly confused

xxx

It was during the morning break that Harry got a chance to talk to Ron and Hermione. The trio hurried to the Room of Requirement, so they would have privacy to talk.

Harry ran through the events from meeting Remus and Sirius last night to the Order meeting this morning. Ron and Hermione listened intently, not interrupting at all. Harry repeated the details he had given to the Order members, so the two Gryffindors knew exactly what he was hiding.

"You didn't tell them about…about You-Know-Who?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I was never planning to tell them…that…part," he shifted uncomfortably. "It would only complicate matters. And besides, they had a hard enough time believing me as it was. If I told them the truth about who brought me up, it would only cause problems." Harry shook his head. "It's better this way."

Hermione nodded her head, deep in thought.

"Yes, you're probably right." She sighed.

"For now, it's best they know as little as possible." Harry said.

"Do you reckon Professor Dumbledore will settle for that?" Ron asked sceptically.

"He'll have to," Harry replied. "Besides, I think he may be distracted for a while." He said with a small smirk.

Hermione and Ron looked confused.

"Distracted? By what?" Hermione asked.

"You'll see." Harry answered, his smirk deepening.

xxx

Hermione and Ron found out soon enough what Harry meant. By the next day, the school was gossiping wildly about the trouble Dumbledore was in with the Ministry. The attack of the Hellhounds on Hogwarts was enough in itself to warrant a meeting between the Headmaster, the Minister and the school board. But it was what happened during the attack that landed Dumbledore in severe trouble.

The revelation of the secret Defence group consisting of twenty plus students that jeopardised their safety and health while fighting against the ferocious Hellhounds, had thrown the school board members and the Minister into an angered frenzy. They demanded the Headmaster claimed responsibility over the incident and explained how such a group was set up in the first place.

Needless to say, the members of the DA were more than upset at learning how their actions were affecting their Headmaster. No one was as upset as Hermione Granger, as she took credit for setting up the DA.

"It's all my fault." she moaned. "I should have just left things as they were."

"We couldn't have," Ron argued. "We needed to do something. Umbridge was crippling us!"

Hermione shook her head.

"I shouldn't have done it, especially after that decree came in, banning all groups. It's only made the situation worse. Minister Fudge is blaming Professor Dumbledore for intentionally allowing the DA to form and continue despite the ban."

"What makes them think Professor Dumbledore knew about the DA?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked on the verge of breaking down.

"Because we were called 'Dumbledore's Army'. The Minister thinks it was all Professor Dumbledore's doing!" Hermione said in a broken voice.

Sitting next to them, face buried behind a book, Harry smiled. Things had worked out better than he could have imagined. He knew when the 'DA' name was suggested it would act like a double sword. Both Dumbledore's reputation and Fudge's pride were injured by the name.

"Can't Professor Dumbledore tell them he had no knowledge about it? I mean, we can testify…" Ron started.

"He's done the opposite." Hermione said miserably. "He's taken full responsibility for the DA, claiming it was his idea."

Harry lowered his book, staring at Hermione in disbelief.

"How do you know that?" both Harry and Ron asked simultaneously.

Hermione and Ron looked up at Harry, surprised he was joining in the conversation.

"I overheard Professor Sprout telling Professor Flitwick. They were shocked Professor Dumbledore could do such a thing. Even the staff is starting to think badly of him for supposedly using the students against the Minister and his Ministry approved coursework."

Harry was quiet. He had not expected that from Dumbledore.

"So, what happens now?" Ron asked quietly.

"There's an investigation on Professor Dumbledore, inspecting his ability to run Hogwarts." Hermione looked at both Harry and Ron. "Because of the DA, Professor Dumbledore might be replaced."

xxx

Dumbledore stood next to the window, watching the sky turn from the pink of sunset to the dark blue of dusk. He stood in complete silence, hands tucked neatly behind him. His eyes were unblinking, expression one of calmness.

"Albus?"

The voice broke his trance. Sighing, the silver haired wizard turned from the window to face the only other person in the room. Snape was standing near the desk, brow furrowed.

"Have you been listening?" the potions master asked irately.

"Yes, Severus," Dumbledore replied. "I have."

"Well?" Snape demanded quietly.

"I'm afraid, I can't." the Headmaster answered.

Snape let out a hiss of anger and frustration.

"Why not? You know who he's been in contact with?!"

"I do, but still, I can't turn him in." Dumbledore answered.

Snape pinched the bridge of his hooked nose, letting his breath hiss from behind his clenched teeth.

"Albus, be reasonable. You know he was lying today…"

"I have to disagree," Dumbledore interrupted. "I don't think he was lying. He was only…withholding information." He corrected.

"And that doesn't worry you?" Snape asked, already knowing that it did.

"There is nothing to be gained by confronting him. I have faith in him, he will come around himself." Dumbledore answered.

"You have _faith_ in him?" Snape asked incredulously. "That boy is not the Harry Potter you know! He is from another dimension, a different world! Albus, we know nothing about him. Talking to him today didn't give us any answers. His explanations didn't clarify why he decided to make a swap; what was he to gain from it? Why is it that even though he had never been struck by the killing curse he has the curse scar on his forehead?" Snape asked with rising anger. "He didn't explain why he came here, why he didn't come clean about his universal swap, why he went to meet the _Dark Lord!_ Why he was addressed as 'son' by the Dark Lord and why he has _Nagini_ as his Patronus!" Snape was breathing hard by the end, his onyx eyes wide and filled with anger. "He didn't provide any answers, Albus and that should be enough of a warning."

Dumbledore bowed his head, his brow furrowed. He walked over to his desk, passing by Snape but not meeting his eyes. He sat down, motioning for Snape to do the same.

"I share your concerns, Severus. I too, want answers but I recognise the need to wait for them. This Harry is unpredictable. Confronting him, or as you suggested, informing the Order of his meeting with Voldemort, is not going to do anything but drive him away. I need him here, at Hogwarts."

"So you can continue to spy on him?" Snape asked.

"Call it what you like, Severus," Dumbledore answered. "But as for now, he stays at Hogwarts, safe and under protection."

Snape didn't look happy but he gave in.

"What about Fudge and the school board? What are you going to do about them?" he asked.

"Nothing, they wish to investigate me so they are welcome to do so. It is best that they focus on me and not Harry." Dumbledore replied.

"What if they decide to remove you?" Snape bit out angrily.

"It is their decision, Severus. But it is my prerogative." Dumbledore answered.

Snape sensed the topic closed. He sighed deeply before looking back at him.

"What do I have to do?" he asked.

"You continue with what we discussed before." Dumbledore said. "The motive is still the same; we have to know as much about him as possible but without driving him away." He looked at the greasy haired Professor, holding his gaze. "When you get the right opportunity, cast Legimens and find out all you can."

Snape nodded his head. When the Headmaster had first told him his plan, months ago, to learn why Harry was acting so strange by performing Legimens, Snape had thought it was worth a try. He doubted the boy had any skill to protect his mind. He planned to catch him off guard during a lesson but so far he had never got the right opportunity. He could never catch Harry looking away from his cauldron during class time. However, now that he knew the boy was an alternate form of his most annoying pupil, he had concerns.

"Do you think a few seconds of Legimens will give us enough answers? It isn't likely that one or two memories will give us sufficient answers. Without knowing anything about his life, how will we understand any of his memories?" Snape asked. He

"All we need is key answers." Dumbledore answered. "If you look for Voldemort when you probe his mind, you will find the most important answers."

Snape looked at Dumbledore, suspicion filled his eyes.

"You already have an idea as to what I'll find in his memories, don't you?" he asked.

"I have a presumption." Dumbledore admitted. "But after watching him for so long, I can confirm that the boy is not an enemy. He saved Sirius' life as well as Arthur's life."

"That's another thing," Snape started, once again irate. "You don't believe his story about riding on a Thestral to get to the Ministry, do you?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, of course not." He said. "You have no idea how slippery those things are. He would have fallen off for sure."

xxx

Neville hurried across the corridor, carefully balancing the books and journals in his arms. He should have known not to take out so many books at the one time. He scolded himself for getting over his head, again. He avoided the other students, muttering 'excuse me' and 'excuse me please' to get a clear pathway to the library.

He passed by a group of sniggering third year Slytherins, who were pointing at him and jeering. Suddenly, he felt a strong push in the small of his back and he fell, face first, onto the corridor. The pile of books and journals flew from his hands and landed around him in a scattered mess. A few of the books were old and couldn't withstand the fall. The pages fell from the weak bindings.

Groaning, Neville sat up, rubbing his painful nose. The sound of the Slytherins laughing rang loudly behind him. Neville didn't look back at them. Face growing rapidly red, Neville began collecting his books, moaning to himself about the damaged books.

A pair of legs stopped before him, halting him in the process of collecting the books. Neville looked up to see Harry staring down at him.

"Oh, hey, Harry!" Neville greeted.

Harry crouched down, eyeing the mess of papers and books.

"Neville," he returned. He looked around him before back at Neville. "Slytherins again?" he asked.

"Yeah," Neville said, sitting back on his knees, stacking the books on the ground. "It's okay though, not much damage this time. They didn't even hex me, just pushed me."

Harry shook his head, eyeing Neville with disappointment.

"Seriously, Neville!" he reprimanded.

Neville shrugged and picked up one of the damaged books.

"I'll have to pay for these." He sighed. "Madame Pince is going to eat me alive." He shuddered.

Harry took the book and various loose pages from his hands.

"Come on," he said standing up.

He waved his hand over at the books, making all of them leap in the air and hover before him, stacked neatly. Neville gaped at the sight.

"Whoa! You can do that?" he asked.

Harry didn't answer, since as far as he was concerned, him performing the magic was answer enough if he could do it or not.

"Come on." he repeated, walking towards an empty classroom. Neville hurried behind him, watching in awe as the stacked books floated behind them.

xxx

"Why do you put up with it?" Harry asked. "All it would take is one powerful hex and the Slytherins would leave you alone."

"That's just the thing, it would take a _powerful_ hex to make them back off. I can't do that." Neville replied. "I can't even do what you're doing right now." he gestured to Harry and the repaired book in his hands.

Harry put the book down and took the last of the damaged ones from Neville. He put his hand over the spine of the book and muttered the spell to stick the pages back in place.

"This isn't really termed as a powerful spell." Harry said, handing him the newly repaired book.

"Exactly, and I can't even manage that." Neville admitted.

Harry watched the red faced boy sitting before him. It was almost impossible to link this boy to the Neville in his world. This one annoyed him so much more but he was able to withstand it.

"What were you doing with all these books anyway?" Harry asked, changing the topic.

"I had taken them out for my Herbology project." Neville explained. "Professor Sprout had said if anyone managed a six foot essay instead of a three foot one, she would offer them a distinction."

Harry glanced around the table, taking in the fifteen or so books.

"All this for a distinction?" he asked.

Neville looked at the ground in embarrassment.

"Pathetic, I know, but I thought I could manage a six foot essay, especially since it's on, The Effective Maturing of Screechsnaps and its Twelve Uses in…" Neville stopped when Harry held up his hand.

"Yeah, I know. I had the same essay, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right, sorry." Neville replied.

Harry took a minute to observe the boy as both climbed to their feet.

"What are you planning on doing after returning the books?" Harry asked.

"Um, nothing. Why?" Neville asked, gathering the stacked books once again.

"I was thinking we could start on your lessons." Harry replied.

"Lessons?" Neville asked confused.

"The ones I mentioned a few weeks back, remember? Extra DA lessons?" Harry prompted.

Neville shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable.

"I figured we weren't going to go ahead with those, seeing as the DA is no longer running." He said.

"That wasn't my decision." Harry said. "I was willing to keep it going."

"It's better that we didn't," Neville answered. "I don't want Professor Dumbledore to get into anymore trouble."

Harry barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He had no idea the DA students would be so guilt ridden by the trouble Dumbledore was suffering, that they would decide to end the DA.

"Well, do you want the lessons or not?" he asked, letting his irate tone seep out.

Neville shied away from him, looking uncertain.

"I don't know, Harry. Won't that get us into trouble?"

"If you don't want to learn, that's fine." Harry said, dropping the last repaired book onto the stack of books and heading towards the door.

Before Harry could leave, Neville called out to him.

"Harry, wait."

Harry turned to face him, seeing the resolve in his expression.

"I want to learn." Neville said. "But I don't want to cause any more trouble, especially for Professor Dumbledore."

"You won't." Harry replied quietly.

Neville nodded, looking both nervous and determined.

"So, I guess we're back in the Room of Requirement?" he asked, picking up the floating books.

Harry smiled.

"I've got a better idea."

xxx

Neville was out of breath by the time he joined Harry at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He had gone to the library and returned his books and then dropped his bag in his dorm before meeting up with Harry.

Without saying a word, Harry turned and started walking into the woods. Confused, Neville followed casting a look back at the castle. He walked behind Harry, growing increasingly fearful as they seemed to be going deeper into the dark, creepy forest.

"Harry? Where are we going?" Neville asked timidly.

Harry didn't answer but kept leading the way, deeper and deeper into the forest. Neville followed, horribly aware of the growing darkness pressing down on them. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking, Harry stopped. Neville caught up with him, peering at his surroundings. He had never been this far into the Forbidden Forest. The trees were so thick here, there was no pathway available to walk in. the place seemed like a dead end.

Harry turned around to face Neville, who looked back at him, unsure of why they had come here. Without saying a word, Harry took a hold of Neville's arm.

"It'll only take a second." He said.

"What will?" Neville asked, growing panicky.

If Harry answered, Neville never heard since the next instant he felt a strange pressure building in his ears, deafening him. He felt the pressure spread down his entire body, making him feel like he was being squeezed down a narrow tube. He closed his eyes in reflex, his cry of surprise not able to leave his body.

The pressure lifted and vanished, just as quickly and suddenly as it came. Neville gasped, blinking his eyes rapidly and taking in deep breaths. He could hear Harry laughing as soon as his ears popped.

"It wasn't that bad." Harry teased.

Neville opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he saw where they were. They were standing in a large clearing; tall trees and bushes encircled the area. It was already dusk but there was still enough light for Neville to see the distant mountains standing proudly before them. He couldn't see any sign of life around him, no houses, no buildings, no roads or pathway.

"Where are we?" Neville asked.

"As far away from Hogwarts as necessary." Harry answered, walking over to admire the sight.

Neville sprung around to stare at Harry, open mouthed in shock.

"You?! You apparated!" he accused.

Harry turned back to smile at him.

"Don't look so shocked, Neville."

"But, but how? You can't apparate, not without a licence and…and you're not of age yet!"

Harry held back his smirk as he walked over to the panicked boy.

"Dumbledore pulled some strings, so I got my licence early."

Neville shook his head, eyes wide and filled with astonishment.

"But you can't! It's not allowed!"

"Dumbledore made it happen." Harry shrugged. "He argued that I was at risk, what with Voldemort back and after me," he saw the way Neville recoiled at the name. "So a test was arranged and I passed it."

Neville still looked a little unsure.

"You probably shouldn't mention this to anyone," Harry continued. "Like you said, I'm not technically allowed to hold an apparating licence. It could cause more problems for the Headmaster."

Neville's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head.

"No, no, I won't say a word to anyone." He promised.

Harry smiled in response.

"Right, shall we start?"

xxx

The weeks went by, the weather progressively getting wetter and colder. February brought with it sleet and non stop rain. Even so Harry continued his one-to-one lessons with Neville.

Four times in the week, Harry arranged to meet Neville deep in the Forbidden Forest. Unknown to Neville, the spot they met at was the edge of the anti-apparation wards. Harry could apparate through the security wards but Neville could not, so Harry had to meet with him at the edge of the wards.

The lessons themselves were intense and nothing like Neville had imagined. For a start, Harry didn't let him use his wand.

"You don't need it for what I'm going to teach you." Harry told him the first day they started. "Put it away."

Reluctantly, Neville obeyed.

"So, what are you going to teach me?" he asked with confusion.

In answer, Harry pulled back his hand and sent a fireball at him. With a yelp, Neville flung himself away, narrowly avoiding the ball of fire.

Harry sighed at the sight, shaking his head.

"Let's try that again, shall we?" he asked rhetorically.

"No, Harry!" Neville yelled, getting quickly to his feet, shielding his face with his arms. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

Harry sent another fireball, this one grazed Neville's shoulder, making the boy cry out in pain.

"Harry, stop!" he pleaded.

Harry threw another fireball and another and another. Neville could do no more than throw himself out of the way. His hands and knees were scratched and grazed, small lines of blood appearing.

After a particularly nasty fall, Neville stayed on the ground, moaning at the pain of his obviously twisted ankle. Harry pelted another fireball at him. Neville watched as the ball of fire shot his way, straight towards his face. He knew there was no way he could get out of the way.

It all happened so fast, Neville was left a little dazed. He felt something stir inside him, a strange sort of bubbling in his head. He looked up at the fireball and the words just came to him.

"Protego"

The fireball stopped mere inches away and popped, as if it were a bubble and not a fireball.

Stunned, he looked up at Harry to see him smiling at him.

"Finally, I thought you would never get it." said Harry.

He walked over to Neville and pointed his wand at the injured ankle. A whispered spell and the pain was gone. Neville took Harry's offered hand and stood up, still confused as to what had just happened.

"I did that?" he asked, pointing to the spot the fireball had disappeared. "I did wandless magic?"

"You have to start trusting your instincts," Harry explained. "You won't always have your wand with you. The magic is inside of you, not your wand. The protection spell worked wandlessly because your instinct made it happen. That is what I'm going to teach you; instinctual magic."

Harry healed the minor cuts and grazes before continuing the lesson.

"You have too much trust in me," he said, going back to stand a few paces away. "Don't look at me like a friend. I'm not Harry Potter, I'm a threat, see me as one."

Neville smiled shyly.

"That's impossible, Harry. You'll always be my friend."

Harry faltered for a moment before taking up his striking stance again.

"Pretend, okay." He said.

From that day onwards, Harry taught Neville everything he could of how to hone your instinctual magic. The problem was, Neville couldn't grasp onto the basics quick enough.

"No, Neville, stop it!" Harry yelled, the second week of lessons. "You're still spending too much energy in throwing yourself out of the way! Stay where you are, fight me with your magic, don't avoid me!"

"You're too fast!" Neville groaned, wiping his muddy palms down his robes. "I don't like throwing myself onto the ground and getting cuts everywhere. But you don't give me enough time to think."

"That's the point!" Harry spat annoyed. "Your instincts are supposed to kick in _without_ you thinking about them! It's not instinctual otherwise." Taking a deep breath, Harry tried again. "Look, think of yourself like a…a," he looked around and spotted the high mountains. "..Like a mountain. No matter how hard the storm strikes, a mountain will never move from its place."

Neville stared at the mountains and then back at Harry.

"Did you read that from somewhere?" he asked.

"Actually, yeah. It was in one of Hermione's books." He grinned.

Neville tried to heed Harry's instructions, but he still couldn't make himself stay in the pathway of the curses. The problem of course was his lack of confidence. He didn't believe in himself.

"My instincts tell me to run." Neville explained as he and Harry walked back towards the castle one evening. "That's the problem."

Harry sighed.

"You have _a lot _of problems, Neville."

"Yeah, I know." Neville agreed in a sad quiet voice.

"But I'm not giving up." Harry said. "I'm not going to stop until I get you to start doing this properly."

"I'm trying, I really am." Neville said. "I won't move out of the way tomorrow." He promised.

"Good," Harry said. "Unless of course it's the Unforgivables you're facing because then, all you can do is jump out of the way."

Neville looked at Harry.

"But, you won't send any Unforgivables my way." He said, knowing that there was no way his friend would do such a thing.

Harry smirked at him as they climbed up the stairs to the main doors.

"You'll have to wait and see." He teased.

"Harry! You're joking. You are joking, right?" he called after him.

Both boys disappeared inside the castle. The main door closed again, sealing off the sounds of life inside.

Across the grounds, a cloaked figure stepped out from behind the tall trees. Certain that no one was around, the figure hurried over to the large tree, its branches swaying wildly in the air. Using a stick, the cloaked individual hit a knot near the bottom of the tree. The Whomping Willow came to a standstill, allowing the person to approach it and use the hidden entrance.

The figure arrived at the shrieking shack, walking quickly towards the only room permitting a soft glow of light. The cloaked figure walked inside to stand before the room's only occupant.

"You're late." The silky voice reprimanded.

Draco pulled the hood down of his cloak.

"Sorry father." He apologised.

Lucius turned around to face his son, disapproval etched in every line of his face.

"This is not acceptable, Draco."

Draco lowered his eyes, preferring to stare at the ground than his father's irate expression.

"I'm sorry father but I couldn't leave on time. They came just as I was leaving and I didn't want to be seen."

Lucius' expression softened just a little but he didn't say anything. He moved towards his son, his movements swift and full of grace.

"Is everything in place?" he asked.

Draco looked up from the ground, his grey eyes showing a fraction of the panic he was feeling inside.

"Yes, father." He replied.

Lucius smiled, relief and a hint of pride hidden in the smile.

"Very well, I will give the news to our Lord. He will dictate when you have to act."

Just as he was about to turn he caught Draco opening his mouth to ask a question. The boy changed his mind but the Death Eater saw the hesitance and addressed it.

"You wish to say something?" he asked.

Taking a chance, Draco spoke about the worries clawing at his insides.

"I'm not sure this will work." He started. "What if he realises what I'm about to do? What if Harry catches me out?" he shook his head, a few strands of his sleek blond hair fell out of place. "He'll kill me, for sure." He muttered.

"It is your failure to carry out your initial mission that has landed you in this predicament." Lucius told him icily. "You were instructed, quite simply, to befriend Potter. That was the only reason you were informed of the dimensional swap between the two Potters. You however, failed to impress this Potter."

"It wasn't my fault. I tried but he…."

"But he saw through your charade and he turned your offer of friendship away." Lucius hissed, disappointment evident in his voice. "This is your alternative mission, which you will complete, regardless of how you feel about it."

Draco looked crest fallen. He miserably nodded his head.

"Yes, father."

Lucius took another step closer, so he was towering over the fifteen year old.

"Everything we have rests on you completing this mission. I trust you don't need to be reminded of that?"

Draco shook his head.

"No, father." He replied quietly.

Lucius extended a hand and let it touch the young boy's shoulder, the briefest of touch.

"Stay prepared, the Dark Lord will send his message soon. The moment he gives the orders, you will have to follow them through immediately and without fail."

Draco looked up into his father's eyes, seeing the concealed worry and panic in him too. He gulped down his own fears and nodded at his father.

"I will, father." He promised.

He was going to follow through; he wasn't going to give the Dark Lord a reason to be angry. He was going to give him what he wanted. He just hoped he avoided being killed in the process.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review! Cheers!!


	36. Reunions

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews!! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

NOTE: This is the last chapter to be split into two worlds. You'll see why!!

**Chapter Thirty Six**

_**AU World **_

Damien knocked softly on the door and waited for it to be answered. He heard the footsteps approaching the door before it was opened. Harry appeared in the doorway. He silently stepped out of the way, allowing Damien to walk inside.

"Hermione's left." Damien informed him as he walked in. "She had to see Professor Dumbledore, to tell him about the compass. Mum and dad went upstairs with her."

Harry closed the door and joined Damien on the sofa.

"Did she explain everything to mum and dad?" he asked quietly.

Damien nodded.

"Yeah, they were surprised about the compass." He said.

Harry looked away, fidgeting with the sleeves of his robes.

"Were they mad at me?" he asked apprehensively.

Damien frowned at him.

"Why would they be mad?" he asked.

Harry looked up with guilt filled eyes.

"It was my fault. You were right after all, the compass never worked because of me."

It was Damien's turn to look away guiltily.

"I was being a jerk," he admitted. "I already told you that. You never knew you were affecting the compass. It wasn't your fault."

Harry lowered his head. It was true he didn't know that he had been stopping the compass from working. Hermione had explained to him that the compass drew power from all those present at the time of activation. It's a complicated and extremely powerful device and apparently, it's incredibly sensitive too. Each time it was activated to send Harry back to his own dimension, it failed to work because Harry didn't _want_ it to work, he didn't want to go back. The Kayanat could pick up Harry's resistance since, as Hermione explained, it draws its powers from its surrounding and Harry's power was far superior to Damien's or anyone else that happened to be around the compass. So it did what Harry wanted and not anyone else.

All the tests she performed on the compass resulted positive. The compass would take Harry back today if that's what he wanted.

"Did Hermione say when she was bringing the compass over?" Harry asked, trying his best to sound normal.

"She said she would bring it tomorrow." Damien answered, noting Harry's brave attempt to stay emotionless.

"Tomorrow, well, that's…good." Harry said.

The boys lapsed into silence. Both were trying hard to think of what they could say next. Damien kept shooting Harry awkward looks. At last he spoke up, not able to keep quiet any longer.

"I don't want you to go." He blurted out.

Harry looked at him in surprise.

"I don't want to go either, as was demonstrated by the compass failing to work." Harry replied. "But, I have to."

"There must be a way for you to stay." Damien said desperately. "A way for Harry and you both to stay here."

"I think you're forgetting that little factor called, Universal Equilibrium Balance." Harry pointed out.

"Who knows if that even exists!?" Damien replied. "For all we know, a bloke bored out of his mind came up with it."

"Damy," Harry said quietly. "I want to stay here, with mum, dad and you. But no matter how much I want it, it doesn't mean I can have it. I don't belong here, no matter how much I wish I did."

Damien shook his head.

"You don't belong it that world either," Damien said. "How can you? You don't deserve to be away from your parents, from your family. No one is meant to be alone."

"I'm not alone." Harry stated with a small smile. "I have great friends that are my family. I have Hogwarts, a place I'll always be welcome and I have these great memories of what my family would have been like. That's more than enough."

Damien didn't have a response to that. He tried to comprehend what Harry was going through right now, to try and understand what it must feel like to leave behind everything you ever wanted and go back to an empty world. He didn't know if he really believed what Harry had just said or if it was just a brave show he was putting up in front of him.

He knew that if this was him in Harry's place, he would be breaking up inside at the prospect of going back to a world where he had no family. No one except an aunt that didn't care for him.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

Harry's brow furrowed.

"For what?" he asked.

Damien shifted in his seat, eyes lowered to his hands resting in his laps.

"I never understood you," he explained. "Harry kept telling me to get to know you but I never listened to him. Now that I got to know you, you have to leave and go back." he shook his head. "I kept blaming everything on you, wishing you had never made the swap with Harry. I was so caught up with missing my brother that I completely ignored the fact that I had my brother with me the whole time."

Harry was speechless. Damien had never referred to him as his brother before. He thought it felt incredible to have a mum and dad, but having a brother felt, somehow, even better. He tried to think of a suitable response but his words failed him.

He idly thought to himself how ironic life was at times. He finally got his complete family, the night before he had to leave all of them.

xxx

Lily cracked the door open and peeked around it. She could see Harry's form, lying on the bed, fast asleep. She exhaled, annoyed.

"He's asleep! Damn Dumbledore and his long talks!"

James peeked around the door as well to see Lily was right.

"We'll just have to talk to him tomorrow." He said.

"I really wanted to talk to him today. Can you imagine what he must be feeling?" Lily said, her eyes fixed on the sleeping boy. "I don't want him to be upset."

James stared at Harry as well, his heart constricting painfully at the thought of this Harry leaving. He missed his son immensely and a big part of him was ecstatic at finally being able to bring him back. But a part of him was breaking at the idea of this Harry leaving.

He opened the door further and slipped inside the room, Lily following him.

"James, don't wake him!" she warned.

James approached the sleeping teen, noting he had not changed out of his robes. He was lying on his stomach, still fully dressed. He had not even removed his shoes. James moved over towards the foot of the bed, intending on taking off the shoes but his eyes caught sight of something lying next to Harry, half tucked under him. He moved to the other side of the bed and saw that it was a leather covered book. Harry must have been looking through it and fell asleep.

As carefully as he could, James eased the thick book out from under Harry's stomach, almost waking the boy up. Harry fidgeted but was in too much of a deep sleep to wake up. Lily shot glares at James, warning him not to wake Harry.

James held the heavy book in his hands, looking over the leather cover. He hadn't seen it before. He flicked open the book to see what it was. His own face smiled back at him from the pages. James saw numerous pictures of himself and Lily smiling and waving. There were a few photos of their wedding day, one with Sirius laughing along with him and Lily. He remembered that day so well.

Lily had come over to see what James was looking at and stood motionless next to him. Her green eyes darted from the photo album to the sleeping Harry and back again. The last photo was of James, Lily and a baby Harry. Lily felt her heart skip a few paces. That was one of her favourite photographs. They had found this same photo in Harry's pocket last year. She reached out and touched the image of the baby Harry, giggling and laughing in his parents arms.

James and Lily looked at each other, both lost for words. They looked back at the sleeping Harry. This was all he had of his parents, this one book with a handful of photos of them. It was no wonder the compass didn't work in Harry's presence. It must be heartbreaking for him to leave them and return to his world.

Quietly, James closed the book and placed it on the pillow next to Harry. He reached out and gently touched Harry's head, letting his palm rest on it for a moment. He pulled the covers over the sleeping boy, while Lily removed his shoes. James took a hold of Lily's hand and led her out of the room, letting Harry sleep undisturbed.

xxx

Harry tried to keep himself busy, darting to one corner of the room and then the next, picking up various things. He eyed the trunk lying open on his bed with dismay. What was he supposed to pack? He looked down at the items in his hands. He didn't own anything here, nothing but his photo album that he brought with him. That was the only thing lying in his trunk.

He cast a look at the mountain of robes and muggle clothes stacked on his bed. This was the stuff his mum had bought him when his identity was revealed. But was he supposed to take it with him? He didn't know.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to take anything that wasn't technically his, even a sock belonging to the other Harry. It was enough that he had forcefully imposed himself on Harry's family for so long now. The problem was, if he didn't busy himself with packing to return to his world, he didn't have anything else to do but wait. And the wait was slowly driving him crazy.

He got back on his feet again and started looking around the quarters, trying to work out what he could take with him.

A knock on his door made him almost jump. This was it. Hermione was probably here with the compass, it was time for him to leave. He walked over and opened the door to find his dad standing alone.

"Morning," James greeted with a smile. "I brought breakfast." He announced, holding up two plates, filled with pancakes. A bottle of syrup floated next to him.

Harry smiled and stepped back, letting James walk inside.

James stopped at the sight of the trunk and clothes lying on the bed. He didn't say anything and carried on walking towards the coffee table, setting the plates down. The syrup bottle floated down to rest between the plates.

Harry joined his dad and sat down, picking up his fork but not actually touching the food. He cast an uncomfortable look at his dad, trying to judge his mood. He looked pretty relaxed and genuinely happy.

"Finish your breakfast, Harry." James said without looking up from his plate.

Harry broke off a bit of his pancake and forced it into his mouth. His appetite was non-existent.

"Did you talk with Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked swallowing the mouthful.

James looked up at him before returning to his food.

"Yes." He answered.

Harry waited but nothing followed.

"What did he say?" he asked.

"About what?" James asked, pushing away his finished plate.

"About me? I mean when do I have to go back?"

"That depends on you." James answered. "The compass won't work unless you want it to."

Harry studied James' expression but there was no underlying annoyance or anger present.

"You're not angry?" Harry asked.

"About what?" James asked.

"I thought you would be annoyed at me. It's my fault the compass didn't work." Harry admitted, still surprised at the lack of blame being directed at him.

"Why would I be annoyed? Because you don't want to leave your family?" James shook his head. "I don't think I can justify that sort of annoyance." He smiled.

Harry suddenly felt very relieved. His parents weren't going to be mad at him. He picked up another bit of his pancake and pushed it into his mouth.

"So, when am I leaving?" Harry asked after a few minutes. He knew he would be leaving soon, despite what James had said about it being his decision. He glanced up at James.

"As soon as you're finished with your breakfast." James answered.

Harry nodded, keeping his eyes on the plate of food. He wanted to ask where his mum and Damien were and if he was going to have a chance to say goodbye to them, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. He kept his head down and forced more food into his mouth. James got up and moved towards the messy bed. He peeked into the trunk but didn't make any move to pick up the album.

Harry chanced another glance at James to see him take out his wand and point it at the robes and clothes. The garments began folding themselves into neat piles. As Harry watched, James began directing the piles of clothes into Harry's trunk. Soon all the clothes had been packed inside the trunk.

James closed the lid of the now over stuffed trunk and turned to look at him.

"Ready?" he asked.

Harry nodded and stood up. He felt very sick; it wasn't such a good idea to force himself to eat when his stomach was feeling so shaky. He walked over to his dad, trying to steady himself for the trip.

"When did Hermione give you the compass?" he asked, a little surprised she had already handed it over.

"She hasn't yet." James said, pulling the trunk off the bed. "She said she'll be over with it tonight."

"Tonight?" Harry asked, stunned. "But I thought….you said I was leaving as soon as breakfast was over?"

"You are," James confirmed. "You are leaving Hogwarts. I didn't say you were going back just yet." He headed towards the door. "Come on now, Lily is already there waiting for us."

"Where are we going?" Harry asked, completely lost as to what was happening.

"Come on," James smiled. "You'll see."

xxx

Harry wasn't very fond of side along apparation. It did nothing to soothe his trembling stomach and he nearly fell, face first, when he landed. Only James's grip on his arm steadied him.

"Thanks" he muttered, straightening up.

He looked around to see where he was. Straight before him was a small cottage with a red door. A perfectly kept garden adorned it, with pretty flowerbeds and several hedges. The garden reminded him strongly of his aunt's garden in Privet Drive. He himself had worked many long hours in that garden, preening the flowers and watering the plants. The resemblance made him realise where he was and it almost knocked the breath out of him.

"Godric's Hollow." He breathed in astonishment.

He felt James' hand on his back, gently urging him forwards. Harry walked up the driveway, taking in everything he could about the place that was his first home. In his own world, Godric's Hollow was probably left in ruins. Harry had yet to pay that place a visit.

James put down Harry's trunk and pulled out a set of keys. It a matter of seconds, Harry found himself walking past the threshold and into Godric's Hollow.

"Welcome home, Harry." James beamed as he watched the boy walk inside, taking in every detail of the cottage.

James could clearly see how much it meant to Harry to be here in Godric's Hollow. The joy was very visible on his face. The way his eyes were wide and kept darting all over the place, they held an almost childish innocence that made James' heart ache. He could see how much this Harry would have loved growing up here.

The door furthest down the hall opened and Lily walked out, her red hair framing her smiling face.

"Finally, you're here!" she greeted. "I've been waiting for ages."

"Who told you to leave at six in the morning?" James teased as he kissed her on the cheek.

"There was a lot to do." She explained. "You would have thought the weekly visits by our house elves would keep this place in shape." She muttered.

"The garden looks good." James offered.

"That was me," Lily explained. "I've been visiting it from time to time." She turned to Harry, smiling at the look of confusion and amazement on his face. "Harry? Everything okay?" she asked.

Harry cleared his throat, seemingly finding difficulty in speaking.

"What's going on?" he managed. "Why am I here? I thought I was going back today since…since the compass is working. I mean, the compass was always working, it's just that now we know how to…to…work…it." he mentally cursed at himself for waffling so much.

"Well, we just thought it would be nice for you to spend some time here." Lily said, looking back at James and then Harry. "We know that you don't remember this place and it's possible it looks really different in your world but, it was your first home. We thought you may like to see it."

Harry nodded, still taking in the cosy looking cottage.

"Come on, I'll show you around." Lily offered.

Harry followed her as she led him to the living room, leaving James standing in the hallway with Harry's trunk.

xxx

"Well, I'm off to go and pick up Damien." James told Lily, walking into the kitchen where she was busy preparing tea. "I can't believe he behaved and stayed without us." James commented.

Lily brushed her hair behind her as she chopped the carrots. "He didn't have a choice." She said. "You left him there."

"Because you told me to." James returned. "I thought it was okay for him to take one day off and come with us but you insisted he finished classes." He accused.

"It's a Friday! It's a school day and he had important classes to attend." Lily answered.

"We took a day off, he could have as well." James said, mirroring Damien's words from early this morning.

"We're not the ones sitting OWLS soon." Lily returned.

"Yeah, well. He'll have fun tonight at least." James said, mentally preparing his make up speech to Damien. "Both of the boys will, I think." He looked around the kitchen, suddenly realising someone was missing. "Where is Harry?"

"He's sitting outside, he said he wanted some air." Lily said.

"Things get a bit too much?" James asked.

"I guess so," Lily answered. "He seemed a bit overwhelmed after the tour. It's understandable."

James walked over to the back door and opened it. He could see Harry sitting on the grass, staring out in front of him. He walked over to him, sitting down on the cool grass next to him.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" James asked.

Harry shook his head. James sat down. He could see Harry was upset but he didn't ask him what was wrong, guessing the answer he would receive. Instead he started talking about other things.

"Did Lily show you around?" he asked.

"Yeah." Harry answered quietly.

"Did she show you the guest bedroom?"

Harry nodded, his eyes fixed to his own knees.

"Did she show you the far right wall of the guest bedroom, next to that awful looking porcelain statue?"

At this peculiar question, Harry looked up at him with a confused expression.

"What?" he asked.

"If you looked carefully, just behind the statue is a big dent in the wall." James beamed with pride. "I did that, when I was about your age."

Harry blinked at him in surprise.

"You dented the wall?" he asked.

"Yep," James smiled. "I was trying to make the room smaller, you know so I could make my room bigger and somehow I managed to mess up the spell and nearly blew a hole in the wall." He laughed at the memory. "My mum lost it completely when she saw what I did."

"Did you get in trouble?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Harry," James shook his head. "I was a marauder. That's what marauders do."

Harry smiled at him.

"I never knew you grew up in Godric's Hollow." He said.

James nodded, various childhood memories from his distant past came back to him.

"I loved it here," he admitted. "I moved out after I graduated from Hogwarts. When I married Lily, we bought a small two bedroom house. I wanted to make that into my own Godric's Hollow." The smile on his face faded. "But when we found out Voldemort was after Harry, we had to leave our house and go into hiding. We moved back here." James looked over at Harry. "You were only two weeks old when we brought you here. I found that I liked the idea of my son growing up in the same place as I did." He looked down at the ground, a look of pain flashed in his eyes. "But I guess it wasn't to be." He said quietly.

Harry looked away from his dad, opting to look out at the clear sky.

"You know what I kept thinking when mum was showing me around?" Harry asked.

James looked at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I kept wondering what this place looks like in my world." Harry turned his head to look at James. "I don't even know if it's still standing or not. I imagine it's in ruins."

James looked hurt at the thought. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply, not wanting to imagine a burned down, deteriorating Godric's Hollow.

"I honestly don't know which dimension is worse." James said with a sigh. "In one, I die and leave you all alone and in the other, I live but without you for so long that when you do come back, I still don't really have you."

Harry saw the pain in his dad; he could almost hear the agony in his voice.

"Harry is glad to be back with you, dad. You have to believe that." he comforted.

James smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I know." he said quietly.

"He'll be glad to know he gets to leave and return to his world." Harry said, "Have you told him yet?"

James shook his head.

"No, not yet."

Harry was surprised; he thought they would've told Harry right away.

"When are you planning on telling him?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, probably." James answered.

Harry nodded quietly.

"Tomorrow, so that's when I go back." he said.

"Yeah, tomorrow is when you go back." James confirmed.

Harry looked around the garden, his eyes scanning the skies above.

"I was expecting to go back sometime today. I guess I have one more night." he said.

James shocked Harry by gently putting an arm around him, touching his shoulder.

"If I had it my way, you would stay here." James said honestly. "But as it is, it isn't up to me."

"I know, dad. I don't belong here. I understand." Harry smiled back.

James looked taken aback.

"Don't say that. Of course you belong here. Where else do you think you belong?" he asked.

"Back in my dimension where I don't have any family other than my magic hating aunt. And the world's darkest wizard after my blood." Harry said irritably. "At least now I understand now why he's after me. The prophecy says I'm the only one who can destroy him, that's why he wants to kill me. That's why I lost you and mum, why I lost everything."

James studied Harry for a moment before he spoke.

"I don't think you should bother about the prophecy." James started.

"What do you mean? Do you think that maybe there is no prophecy in my world?" Harry asked hopefully. "But then, why would Voldemort target me?"

"Harry, I don't; know if your world has a prophecy and if it does, if it is the same as the one here. But you shouldn't bother about the prophecy because it doesn't matter." James looked Harry straight in the eyes, holding the confused boy's gaze. "I don't care what the prophecy says; you don't have anything to do with the likes of Voldemort. Nothing links you to him, nothing at all, do you understand?"

Harry couldn't figure out what he was supposed to say to that. He shook his head, trying to get it around what his father was telling him.

"But, I don't understand. There is a prophecy and because of it Voldemort is after me."

"He may be after you, but it isn't your job to go after him." James explained. "If the prophecy in your world is similar to the one in this world, then you will be expected to go after Voldemort, to destroy him."

Harry couldn't help the feeling of despair that grew inside him at that thought.

"I want to destroy him," Harry started. "He took everything I had away from me. I want to fight against him, I always will but, I don't know how to fight him, how to…to destroy him."

James tightened his grip on Harry's shoulder.

"Listen to me Harry; it's not your job to defeat Voldemort. You have a life to live just like everyone else. The responsibility is not solely yours."

Harry looked at his dad's face, seeing the underlay of anger in his features.

"Do you not believe in the prophecy?" he asked.

"I did, at one point." He answered. "But even then, I never wanted my son to be carrying the weight of such a responsibility. There are plenty of others that can defeat Voldemort. My son isn't the only one. I want you to live your life, free from ridiculous expectations and pressures of fulfilling a destiny no one knows for sure is even yours."

Harry lowered his gaze, thinking over his dad's words. He nodded at him, making him smile once again.

"Now, I'm going to go and pick up Damien from Hogwarts. I want you to go inside and get washed up and dressed." James said, getting to his feet

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Harry asked, still seated on the grass.

"Your mum will freak out if you attend the party dressed like that." James said, gesturing to his faded jeans and hooded top.

"Party? What party?" Harry asked.

"The party that's happening in less than two hours." James said, walking back to the house. He turned to smile at Harry. "You didn't think you were going to go back to your world without having a leaving bash, did you?"

xxx

After quickly having some of the tea Lily had prepared, Harry was sent upstairs to take a shower and get ready for the party. He was still a bit dazed from the suddenness of it all but he complied with his mother's wishes.

He walked into his room, towel drying his hair, dressed only in a bathrobe. He saw the formal robes his mum had left out for him. Bottle green seemed to be a favourite colour of hers.

He picked up the robes and realised right away that there was something wrong with them. A soft knock on his door made him look towards the door. Lily opened the door and peeked inside.

"Hey" she greeted, walking inside after seeing Harry was decent.

"Hey," Harry answered and then held up the bottle green robes. "These aren't right." He said.

Lily smiled at him as she walked over.

"Why? What's wrong with them?" she asked.

"They're too small." Harry answered.

Lily pulled out her wand.

"Actually, they're just the right size for you." She said.

Harry opened his mouth but didn't get a chance to ask any further questions. Lily had already muttered a spell and Harry felt the odd chill run through him again and felt himself shrinking. He blinked up at her with his blurry eyesight, confused.

"We want to spend your last night with us properly, with the _real_ you." Lily explained softly.

She handed him something small and he realised it was his glasses. He put them on and looked up at his mum, seeing her smile lovingly at him.

"Get dressed, honey." She said, gently touching his cheek.

She turned and left, leaving Harry smiling after her, in his two sized, too big bathrobe.

xxx

Harry stood before the mirror, dressed in his smart formal robes. He brushed his messy bangs, trying all sorts of things to make the stubborn locks sit right but all it did was make them look more ruffled. He gave up just as a knock on his door sounded and Damien walked inside.

"Hey, you're here." Harry greeted, eyeing the dark blue formal robes the boy wore.

"I arrived ages ago. Mum made a big deal about getting ready first and then hanging out with you." Damien said as he sat down on Harry's bed. He made no comment about Harry's changed appearance. "What do you think of Godric's Hollow?" he asked with a smile.

"It's cool," Harry answered.

"I can't believe they left me at Hogwarts." Damien pouted. "Mum and dad got themselves out of teaching for the day but they wouldn't pull me out with them! I was so bored. I couldn't wait for classes to end!"

"How did they manage to get out of teaching?" Harry asked, fixing his robes.

"Professor Dumbledore covered their classes for them." Damien answered. At Harry's shocked expression he explained. "He does that sometimes, he's covered nearly every subject at some point. The only one he hasn't is Divination."

Harry shook his head, fixing his collars. He could just about imagine the Headmaster in that stuffy, over-perfumed room sitting uncomfortably on a beanbag, peering at a crystal ball through his half moon glasses.

"Just as well." He muttered.

"Mum wants us to go down now." Damien said, standing up. He eyed Harry trying frantically to fix his hair. "It's a lost cause." He told him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to the door.

As Harry and Damien walked downstairs they could already hear the laughing voices of several people.

"Damy, who exactly is invited to this party?" he asked.

"You'll see." Damien answered, pushing him forward.

Feeling slightly nervous, Harry pushed open the door and walked inside. The sight wasn't one he had been expecting. Instead of a room filled with people, he found only a handful of familiar faces. Remus, Sirius and Arthur were dressed in formal robes as well as James. Lily was standing with Tonks and Molly. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were standing next to the tall figure of Dumbledore.

All of the room's occupants turned to see Harry walk inside with Damien and greeted them with warm smiles. Harry saw the surprised expressions of Tonks and Mrs Weasley and knew instantly it was due to his appearance. This was the first time they had seen him without the glamour charm.

Harry made his way in, smiling back at his friends. He approached his mum, gently taking her arm and pulling her to the side.

"Mum, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"This party? I mean when dad said we were having a party, I thought it would consist of a lot more people, mostly ones I don't know." he added. "Are the guests late?" he asked.

Lily smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, this is it." she gestured to the room. "I guess it's less of a party and more of a gathering of close friends." She explained. "Your dad and I thought it would be best for you to spend tonight with those you know well."

Harry looked back at the small crowd, his eyes glancing over at the Headmaster.

"He sort of invited himself." Lily whispered, seeing Harry's gaze land on the white haired wizard.

Harry smiled as he turned back to look at his mum.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

"You're welcome." Lily whispered back.

Taking his arm, she led him towards the small group of people who were all waiting for him.

xxx

James heard the doorbell ring twice before he managed to answer it. He left his guests in the living room and hurried to answer the front door. He had no idea who was at the door, as everyone he had invited had already arrived.

He opened the door to face the least expected person.

"Draco?" James asked, noting the solemn expression on the pale face.

"Mr Potter," Draco greeted. "Sorry for coming unannounced, but I thought I should see you tonight."

James stepped aside to let the boy in. Draco cast a glance towards the living room at hearing the sounds of laughter and voices.

"We were sort of having a leaving party for Harry." James explained, feeling slightly guilty for not inviting the boy. "The compass is ready, Harry will be returning to his world tomorrow."

Draco's expression brightened a little at that.

"Oh, good." He said, his tone as emotionless as ever.

"I would have invited you but…" James started but Draco held up a hand to stop him.

"It's okay. I don't have any interest in attending his party." Draco said. Reaching into his robes he pulled out a small black box barely as big as his palm. "I only came to give you this." he said as he offered the box.

James took the box from him and lifted the lid to see what was inside. He was surprised to see a single corked vial resting inside, white mist swirling within it. He looked back up at Draco.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's from my father," Draco said heavily. He looked up to meet James' surprised hazel eyes. "He's awake."

James looked back at the vial and knew what it was now. It was the memories he had asked from the elder Malfoy. The memories that Harry needed to make sense of his past. He placed the lid back on the box and with extra care, he pocketed the box.

"When did your father awake from his coma?" he asked.

"This afternoon," Draco said. "He and mother both woke up within an hour of each other. Father asked for me and when I went to see him, he told me to go to the Manor and find this box in his office. He was adamant that I pass it onto you as soon as possible." Draco shrugged a little. "I can't see what his hurry was but I did as he asked."

James nodded his head in understanding.

"Thank you, Draco." He said. "I will thank Lucius too in person." he said, more to himself.

Draco let out a bitter laugh.

"You'll have to go all the way to Azkaban for that." he said cynically. "He's already been transported to his cell."

James wasn't surprised. He had thought the Ministry was kind enough to allow the Death Eater time to recuperate in hospital. Usually, convicted Death Eaters were not given medical attention, unless otherwise instructed. It was enough that they waited for Lucius to wake from the coma, before he was taken to Azkaban. He felt the weight of the box sitting in his pocket though and a stir of pity washed through him. Not so much for Lucius but for the boy standing before him. It was clear to see how upset he was at losing his father again.

"Do you want to come in and have a drink?" he asked, gesturing to the living room.

Draco glanced over at the room and looked set to decline the offer.

"You can share one with Harry when he comes back tomorrow but how about one tonight with me?" James said.

Draco looked back over at the room and then started towards it.

"Sure, why not." He muttered.

James touched the box in his pocket for a moment before silently walking in after him.

xxx

When Harry woke up the next morning, he spent a good twenty minutes lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't even move to put on his glasses but continued to gaze at the blurry image of his bedroom ceiling. He would never wake up and see this ceiling again. Somehow that thought upset him more than he would have imagined.

It was only when the sound of footsteps coming up and down the stairs reached him that Harry pulled himself out of bed. He took his time going through his morning routine. When he was finally dressed, he stood before the mirror, staring at his own reflection. With a deep sigh he pulled his gaze away from himself and shook his head.

"Get a grip, Harry." he admonished. He should be prepared for this. He had to go back sometime.

Turning away, he moved towards the door and opened it and made his way downstairs, ready to leave this world and go back to his own.

When Harry walked into the kitchen, he was greeted by the sight of Lily yelling at Damien, who was pouting and arguing back.

"What's wrong with these?" Damien asked, gesturing to his robes.

"They are a disgrace!" Lily said, busy scrubbing the dishes in the sink. "Look at the hem, it's tattered and no son of mine is going to be seen in tattered clothes! Get upstairs and get changed, now."

"Mum, these are the third ones I've tried this morning. They're fine, really." Damien tried. "You're just getting too picky."

"Damy, upstairs, change, now!" Lily said, pointing a soapy finger at the door.

Damien grumbled something under his breath and moved to face the door. He spotted Harry and waved at him.

"Morning, eat breakfast quickly and let the changing of outfits begin." He mocked.

Before Harry could say anything, James came running behind him.

"Lily, where is my lucky snitch?" he asked, rather breathlessly.

"Why?" Lily asked, drying her hands and untying the apron around her waist.

"I need it." James answered.

"No you don't." Lily argued. "Stop collecting things to show off and get ready. We're leaving soon."

"But Lily honey, it's my lucky snitch, the one I nick…I mean borrowed after our big win against Ravenclaw in my fifth year! The boys would love to see it, again."

Lily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"James, I say this with love, stop wasting time and get ready, now!"

James' argument was cut off by the sound of a loud pop and Ginny suddenly appeared in the middle of the kitchen.

"Morning!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Morning, dear," Lily answered and gave her outfit a quick glance over. "Yes, you look fine." She said happily.

Ginny smiled and ran a hand over her hair, flicking it over her shoulder. She looked over at the three men by the door.

"Why aren't you ready? We're leaving in ten minutes." She asked.

"Eight minutes." Lilly corrected, tidying up her kitchen as fast as she could. "Damy, go." She instructed. "Harry, honey, come and have your breakfast," she said, uncovering a plate of breakfast. Then looking at his robes she added. "Then go upstairs and change."

"Honestly, mum. There is no such outfit made exclusively when travelling to another dimension. The ones I'm wearing are fine." Damien argued.

At Lily's glare and pointed finger, Damien huffed and left, running up the stairs to get changed.

"Lily, my snitch?" James asked again.

"Wait, wait," Harry said, making Lily pause in her annoyed retort. "What is going on?" he looked at his mum carefully before he asked, "Are you…are all of you coming with me?"

Lily laughed and walked over to him.

"Of course we are." she said cupping his face lovingly in her hands.

"Did you think we were going to let you travel back by yourself?" James asked incredulously.

"Besides, we have to come with you. There's a certain sister I need to have a…talk with." Lily said, smirking.

"Lily, honey, I thought we had worked past your homicidal urges." James joked.

Lily raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. She led Harry to the table and made him sit down.

"Eat." She ordered and then left the kitchen, with James trailing behind her, begging her for the whereabouts of his golden snitch.

Ginny joined Harry at the table, taking some bits of bacon from his plate.

"You're coming too?" Harry asked, still blind sighted at the fact he had his family with him for the trip.

"Yep," Ginny grinned. "I can't wait!" she said excitedly.

"And Mrs Weasley doesn't mind you taking a trip to another dimension?" Harry asked.

Ginny gave him a look.

"Harry, I'm seventeen. I can do what I want." After a pause she added. "And by that I mean, my mum doesn't know and thinks I'm spending the next two days with Hermione." She smiled at Harry's smirk. "Mum's neurotically over protective."

"Yeah, I know." Harry answered.

They heard footsteps approaching and Damien walked inside, wearing blue coloured robes.

"Alright, are these better?" he asked, walking inside. He glanced around the kitchen and then frowned. "Where did she go now?"

"They're looking for the golden snitch." Ginny replied.

"I hope she lets him take it with him," Damien said, walking over to share Harry's breakfast. "She's already confiscated the twenty things he had collected to take with him."

xxx

Sirius and Remus arrived shortly afterward Harry's breakfast, apparently coming to see them off.

"It's not fair!" Sirius pouted. "I wanted to come too."

"It's not safe for you." Lily said, handing Harry and Damien their outdoor cloaks.

"You're taking her," Sirius said, pointing at Ginny. "How come she gets to go and I don't?"

"Firstly, she's Harry's girlfriend," Damien explained. "And secondly, we're not taking her, she invited herself."

"And we're not going to un-invite her," James said. "Have you seen her Bat-Bogey Hex?" he gave a playful shiver.

"Excuse me, but like Damien said, I'm Harry's girlfriend and do you know how long it's been since I saw him? There is no way I'm staying back!" Ginny said.

"Well, I'm Harry's godfather! How come I don't get to go?" Sirius asked.

"You know what state your counterpart is in. He's on the run from the Ministry. You could end up in trouble." Lily said.

"Lils, trouble could be my middle name." Sirius replied proudly. "In fact, it damn well should be. How cool is that; _Sirius_ _Trouble_! I think it goes pretty well." He smirked.

Harry and Damien chuckled at both Sirius' name and their mother's disapproving expression. Harry was going to miss this Sirius; he was so full of life.

"Have you called Harry yet?" Remus asked James.

"No," James said, quickly reaching into his robes to pull out the phone. "I'll just do it now." he said as he pressed the green call button.

"Loudspeaker, I want to hear what he says." Damien said smiling.

James complied with his youngest son's wishes. The phone clicked and a voice filled the room, but it wasn't Harry's.

"Hello?"

James looked back at Remus and Sirius, recognising the voice at once.

"Moony?" he asked.

"James?" Remus' voice echoed from the phone. "I was just about to call you!" he said excitedly.

"You were?" James asked. "Is everything okay?" he asked worriedly. Harry always had the phone with him, so why did Remus answer?

"Yes, everything is fine." Remus answered. "I'm at Hogwarts and I ran into Harry. I wanted to talk to you so Harry gave me his phone. I was just about to press the button when you called." Remus explained.

James relaxed at that. He took the phone off loudspeaker and turned to walk towards the window, to get some privacy to speak to the alternate form of his friend.

While James was on the phone, Lily approached Remus and whispered something to him. Remus smiled and pulled out a brown envelope from his robes and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Moony." Lily beamed. She looked over at Harry and gestured to him. "Harry, a quick word?"

Harry left with Lily, entering the kitchen again and leaving the rest in the living room. Lily handed the brown envelope to Harry wordlessly. Curious, Harry opened the sealed envelope and pulled out the contents. About two dozen photographs fell out of the envelope into Harry's hands. Stunned Harry looked through the magical moving photos, noting that all of them were from last night's party and he was in every one of them. He looked up to see Lily studying him closely.

"I had Tonks secretly take some pictures last night." she explained. "I figured you could add them to your album."

Harry didn't ask how she knew about his album. He found he didn't really care. He looked back at the photos, studying one that had him laughing with Damien, Ginny in the background having a drink with Ron and Hermione. The one after that one had him with James and Lily, James' hand resting on his shoulder. Harry had never noticed how fatherly that action was until he saw it in the photo.

"Thank you," he said, surprised at how quiet his own voice sounded to him. He looked up at his mum. "Thank you for this."

Lily moved and hugged him tightly.

"We love you, Harry, never forget that." she whispered.

"I won't." Harry promised.

Releasing Harry, Lily moved back to give him a watery smile.

"Come on, it's time." she said.

Harry held onto her hand, the photos envelope in his other. He let her lead him out. They entered the living room to see James had finished with the phone and was now standing with Damien and Ginny. The compass was in Damien's hand. James had Harry's trunk in his hands. Remus and Sirius were standing just behind them.

"Ready?" James asked quietly, looking at Harry.

His question brought everyone's attention to Harry. Harry tightened his grip on the brown envelope of photos. He smiled back at James.

"Yeah," he said. "I really am." He said, realising that it was the truth. He was ready to go back.

Lily and Harry walked over to join the trio and reached out to touch the compass.

"Did you tell Professor Lupin that we're coming?" Harry asked.

"No, I figured a surprise would be the best." James smirked. He turned to look at Damien. "Go for it, Damy." James said, excitement evident in his voice.

With a look at Harry, Damien reached over. Only when Harry smiled and nodded approvingly, did Damien twist the two rings, clicking them to the required settings. Harry watched as the compass came to life, the hands started moving in all directions. A soft golden glow shimmered through the compass, making the five tighten their grips. A golden light grew from the face of the compass and engulfed the five. James cast a look at his two friends, who were watching them with awed expressions. He smiled at them just before a golden flash blinded everyone.

Remus and Sirius rapidly blinked to clear their eyesight to see the empty room.

The compass had worked. The five were now in another dimension.

---

_**Canon World**_

Dinner was over and the students were making their way back lazily to their common rooms. Among them were Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"I can't believe the amount of homework we have." Ron grumbled. "It's like they don't want us to have a single moment to ourselves."

"You're in school, Ronald. You're supposed to do nothing but study." Hermione explained.

Ron pulled a face at her.

"Easy for you. You actually _like_ being stuck behind books all day and night."

"Oh and I suppose if you could get all your grades by flying around all day chasing a stupid quaffle around, you wouldn't mind _studying_ either!" Hermione returned.

"Exactly!" Ron said. "That is what school should be about. Am I right Harry?"

Harry gave Ron an apologetic grin.

"Sorry, mate. I'm with her on this one." He said, nodding his head at Hermione.

Ron sighed and shook his head, avoiding looking at Hermione's smug expression.

"I miss Harry," he whispered. "He always sides with me."

"Only on Quidditch related topics." Hermione corrected.

Ron leaned in to Harry, so the passing students couldn't eavesdrop.

"You think I could get the phone? I need to talk to him. It's important." he whispered.

"What's important?" Hermione asked, her eyes narrowed at the red haired boy.

"I need to complain about you!" Ron snapped.

"As suicidal as that is," Harry said, stopping Hermione from retorting, "I can't give you the phone. Remus has it."

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked, forgetting about fighting with Ron. "When did you meet him?"

"Just before dinner," Harry replied, climbing the last set of stairs. "He's over to speak to Dumbledore. He wanted to make a quick call."

The three Gryffindors climbed through the hole and entered the common room. Harry headed straight to his dorm room while Ron and Hermione sat down at their usual spots, digging out their textbooks, parchments and quills.

Harry reappeared moments later. He had changed out of his school robes and left his bag in his room. He headed towards the door, waving bye to Ron and Hermione. Once he had left, Hermione turned to face Ron.

"I wonder where he goes?" she whispered.

"You know what he can do," Ron whispered back, referring to the fact that Harry could apparate out of Hogwarts. "He could be going anywhere."

Hermione looked back at the portrait door, her brows furrowed in thought.

"I hope he's not up to something," she said. "You know, something bad."

Ron shrugged, already scribbling at his essay.

"It's Harry, what's the worst he can do?"

Hermione bit her lip as she glanced back at the door. Somehow, she knew if Harry came to his worst, things could end up really, really bad.

xxx

Harry glanced around the dark forest. Usually Neville was already here waiting for him but today Harry had arrived before him. Harry glanced up at the skies. From what little he could see through the thick forest trees, it was fast approaching dusk. He was on time, Neville was late.

After a few minutes, Harry heard the footsteps approaching in his direction. Turning around, he caught sight of the Gryffindor boy, slowly coming towards him.

"Finally! I thought you weren't coming." Harry said.

Neville smiled awkwardly at him and shuffled his way over.

"Sorry, got caught up." He muttered.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. Something seemed amiss with him. He was usually very cheerful about going to his training.

"You okay?" Harry asked.

Neville glanced up at him and nodded tightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said.

Harry didn't believe him but he decided not to push it. If Neville wanted to tell him what was on his mind, he could do so without having to be pushed.

"Okay, shall we go?" Harry asked.

Neville nodded and walked up to stand before him.

"Before I forget," Neville started. "I wanted to give you this." he pulled out a small bag from his robes, with a few orange and red coloured sweets. "Seamus got them delivered from his mum. I know you like fireballs so I saved these." He said quietly.

Harry took the bag and looked at the sweets. He wasn't very keen of sweets but he didn't want to say that to Neville. For all he knew, this world's Harry could be fond of these fireball sweets.

"Alright, thanks." Harry said, pocketing the bag.

Neville's gaze lingered on the spot Harry had pocketed the sweets. He cast a glance upwards at the skies. Harry followed his gaze, wondering what was wrong.

"Neville?" he said quietly to get his attention.

Neville looked back at Harry, his face twisted in an expression Harry had never witnessed before. Even in the dim light Harry recognised the look in his eyes; remorse.

"I'm sorry," Neville said, stepping backwards away from Harry. "I had no choice." He whispered.

Harry was about to ask what was wrong but he stopped when he saw the changes begin to show. Neville's brown hair seemed to lose its colour, his eyes began changing. He slowly started growing taller, his round face changing to a pale, pointed one.

The transformation had hardly begun when Harry realised what had happened. His hand darted to his inner robes pocket to pull out the small bag of sweets but it was too late. He felt the sharp pull at his navel as the portkey activated and took Harry with it.

Draco stood, dressed in Gryffindor robes, breathing heavily. His grey eyes were fixed on the spot Harry had been standing in only seconds ago. He looked back up at the skies, letting out his breath. He didn't dare let his mind fixate on what he had done. He kept telling himself he hadn't the choice. He had done what was asked of him.

Harry had been tricked and sent to Voldemort.

xxx

Harry fell face first on the ground, his breath knocked out of him. He coughed a few times to get his breath back. He looked around his surroundings to see he was alone in a dark corridor. He pushed himself to his feet, his eyes darting to all corners. He was alone.

Harry reached into his robes pocket and pulled out the portkey disguised as a bag of sweets. He pulled his hand back to throw them into a corner.

Only when he had pulled his hand back to throw the sweets did he see the addition on his wrist. Groaning, he held up his wrist to the limited light provided by the single flickering torch. Wrapped around his wrist was the fiery red band he hated so much. He looked over to his other wrist to find a matching one.

"Great! Just great!" he growled at the two bartra bracelets.

He held up the bag and studied it, noting that the red sweets had disappeared, leaving only the orange ones. He looked back at his red bartra bracelets and cursed, throwing the bag with force at the nearest wall. The bag smacked hard against the wall.

He pulled out his wand and started walking along the corridor. If he couldn't apparate from here because of the bartra bracelets, he was just going to have to find another way out.

xxx

The Portrait door swung open and a tired and disgruntled Neville climbed through. He headed straight towards Ron and Hermione and threw himself onto the nearest armchair.

"What happened to you?" Hermione asked, putting down her book and eyeing the soil stain on his cheek.

"Garbars" Neville groaned.

"I beg your pardon." Hermione said.

Neville sat up a little to look at Hermione.

"The Garbars the seventh years planted, they've all been destroyed." Neville explained.

"How do you know?" Ron asked, putting down his parchment.

"I've just spent the last three hours helping Professor Sprout in Greenhouse three. We tried saving them but it was too late. We only managed to save ten."

"Well, that's not bad." Hermione said, trying to comfort him.

"They had planted a hundred." Neville said morosely.

"Oh" Hermione said quietly.

"I can't believe someone could do such a thing." Neville said, shaking his head. "The Garbars can't survive in too much water. It is essential they aren't given more than five ml of purified water a week. Today, someone sneaked into the Greenhouse and poured buckets of water into each pot. They drowned them." Neville said, clearly upset.

"Oh, Neville, I'm sorry." Hermione said, looking just as upset.

"A prank is a prank, this…this was murder." Neville said.

Ron looked at Neville in surprise.

"Calm down, Neville. It's only a bunch of plants. You can replant them."

Neville turned to stare at Ron.

"You can't just replant them! Garbars are extremely rare. It's going to take months for the seeds to harvest again."

"You seem to know a lot about Garbars, Neville." Hermione said with approval. "You really are concentrating on Herbology. I hadn't even heard of them."

Neville's expression relaxed and a small blush spread down his cheeks.

"Well, I did an extracurricular assignment on Garbars and Professor Sprout said I had a natural understanding of them. That's why she let me help when they were being prepared for the seventh years." His face fell again. "I was there when they first sprouted."

Hermione patted his shoulder.

"It's okay, Neville. These things happen."

Neville shook his head but didn't say anything. After a few moments he looked around the common room, looking for someone.

"Have you seen Harry?" he asked. "I was supposed to meet up with him but I got held back because I was helping Professor Sprout. I tried looking for him but I couldn't find him anywhere."

"He left soon after having dinner," Ron offered. "No idea where he is, sorry."

Neville furrowed his brow.

"That's weird. He wasn't there when I checked." He muttered quietly.

"What was that?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing, nothing." Neville said quickly. "I'll just, um, take a walk, now."

"You might be better off taking a shower." Ron said, scrunching up his nose. "You stink, mate."

"Yeah, I'll do that. I'm just going to go and check, again." Neville mumbled and hurried to the door.

Hermione looked back at Ron as Neville climbed out the door.

"I didn't know Harry made plans with Neville." She said, surprised.

Ron shrugged.

"Me neither." He replied, not seemingly bothered.

Hermione picked up her book again but couldn't focus on it. She kept on thinking about how much Harry seemed to be bothered by Neville and now both boys were meeting up so they could hang out.

She shook her head; Harry was a real mystery at times. She went back to her reading, casting all thoughts of Harry out for the time being.

xxx

It didn't take long for Harry to run into the Death Eaters. As soon as the long darkened corridor came to an end, Harry found a group of ten masked man waiting for him. Very soon, nine of those ten men were found on the ground, either dead or knocked unconscious. The tenth man was fighting Harry's grip to breathe.

"Take these off!" Harry instructed, gesturing to the fiery red bracelets.

"I…I…c-can't!" the man choked out, clawing at Harry's arm which was pressed up against his throat.

"Then tell me who can!" Harry said, applying more pressure against the man's windpipe.

The Death Eater made a strangling noise of pain but couldn't speak.

"Maybe I could help." A silky voice called out.

Harry looked up and saw the blond haired man walk slowly towards him. His wand was held in one gloved hand.

Harry let go of the Death Eater, letting the man fall to the ground. He stepped over the Death Eater who was busy gulping in as much air as he could.

"I'm glad you could join us," Lucius went on. His eyes scanned the floor and took in the bodies of the ten men. "I see you don't approve of our hospitality."

Harry smirked at him.

"It must have something to do with being kidnapped. It really tries my patience."

Lucius smiled back at Harry.

"Well, Mr Potter, you will have to accept my apologies, because your patience will have a lot to handle today."

The spell came at Harry in an instant. Harry blocked it with his shield before sending one of his own. Lucius jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the jet of light. Lucius tried again but his body binding spell bounced off Harry's shield and hit one of the Death Eaters on the ground.

"Come on, Malfoy. You can do more than that!" Harry teased as he sent his own spell at him. "You can't bring me down with a binding spell! You have to do more damage than that to get me."

"On the contrary, Mr Potter. We wish to do you no damage." Lucius said.

"Really? What is it you want then?" Harry said, sending three fireballs at Lucius.

Lucius shielded himself against them before smiling at Harry.

"Why, a simple reunion is all we're after." He said.

Harry scoffed at him.

"You'll have to try better than that!" he growled.

Suddenly a jet of red light came from behind Harry and hit his hand, forcing his wand to fall. Harry gripped at his hand as pain shot through it.

"Actually, Harry, Lucius is telling the truth." A cold voice echoed around him.

Harry turned around to face the speaker, a snarl on his face. His expression changed however when he saw who was standing before him. It was of course Voldemort, Harry could recognise his voice anywhere but it was the appearance of the dark wizard that choked the breath from Harry.

Standing before Harry, dressed in his usual dark robes stood Lord Voldemort. But the face that was smiling at Harry wasn't the one that resembled a snake with slits for nostrils. It was the handsome face Harry had grown up seeing every day. The dark haired man standing before him looked like the Lord Voldemort belonging to Harry's true world, he resembled that man he called father for sixteen years.

Harry took a staggering step backwards. His wide green eyes were fixed on Voldemort who was enjoying every moment of Harry's stunned surprise.

"I was hoping for a little meeting, that's why I asked Lucius and Draco to set all this up." Voldemort continued, walking a few steps towards Harry.

The smirk on his face snapped Harry out of his horrified daze. He glared at the man hatefully.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he spat.

"Now, Harry. You know better than that to speak to your father like that." Voldemort teased, still smirking.

"Stop it!" Harry yelled, his fists curled into tight balls. "You're not him. A glamour charm can make you _look_ like him, not become him." he hissed in anger.

Voldemort laughed his high cold laugh.

"I have no intentions of becoming him." Voldemort stated. "He was a fool; he allowed his own destruction by _caring_ for you." He shook his head. "If he had accepted that he could trust no one but himself, he would never have been deceived by you."

The words stung Harry, especially since the person saying them looked so much like his _father_. He shook his head, shaking away the hurt.

"Aww, poor baby. You're hurting his feelings, master." A voice cooed with mockery.

Harry looked up to see Bella walk from behind Voldemort. Again, the difference in her appearance took him by surprise. She looked like the Bella that he had lost in his world. The toll Azkaban had taken on her was hidden behind a glamour charm, making her look like the beautiful woman she once was.

Bella cocked her head to the side and studied Harry.

"I think he may cry." she mocked as she walked over to Harry. "I would love to see you cry, maybe at the end, you will give me my wish." She whispered, coming to rest before him.

Harry didn't speak. For a moment he did nothing but stare at the face of the woman he loved just as much as he hated her. In one sudden move, Harry threw out his hand and wrapped his fingers around Bella's throat. His other hand pulled out the second wand he kept hidden in the back of his trousers. He pulled Bella in front of him, using her as a shield, the tip of his wand pressed against her temple.

He moved so his back was facing the wall, so he could see both Voldemort and Lucius.

"Enough of this!" he hissed "Take these off, now!" he said, gesturing to the bartra bracelets.

Bella struggled against Harry's grip but couldn't get free.

Lucius had his wand pointed at Harry and looked worriedly at Bella. Voldemort however hadn't moved from his spot. His red eyes sparkled as a smirk spread on his lips.

"Go ahead," he said to Harry. "Kill her."

Harry pulled at Bella, making her gasp in pain.

"I'll do it!" Harry hissed, pressing the wand harder into her skin.

"I know you will." Voldemort said. "After all, you did it in your world, why not here?"

Harry's grip slackened, just a little bit. Again, Voldemort's taunts hit him where it hurt the most. Harry could see that Voldemort knew he couldn't kill Bella. He knew it and that's why he was using it against him. But even so, Harry couldn't make himself hurt Bella, not even to prove Voldemort wrong.

Without warning, Harry pushed Bella away from himself. He turned his wand to the spot just above Lucius. The jet of light hit the ceiling above him resulting in crumbling plaster raining down.

The blond Death Eater jumped out of the way. Harry darted towards the cleared pathway and disappeared around the corner.

Lucius and Bella both made to go after him but Voldemort stopped them.

"He can't leave the Manor, not while wearing the bracelets." He said. "Let him run, it'll tire him out." He smirked.

xxx

Remus sat before Dumbledore in his office, discussing the latest happenings of the investigation against Dumbledore.

"Are you certain the school board members will support you?" Remus asked worriedly.

"I think they will make their decision based not only on the hellhound incident." Dumbledore answered. "I have another meeting with them to attend tomorrow."

Remus shook his head.

"I can't believe how much trouble this has caused."

Dumbledore sipped at his tea, quiet for a moment.

"How has Harry been with you?" he asked, placing his cup down.

"He's been fine. I haven't had much of a chance to talk to him. I only met him briefly today." Remus said.

"Has he spoken much about himself? About his own world?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not really," Remus answered. "Like I said, we've not had much time to talk." He looked at Dumbledore carefully. "Why?"

Dumbledore picked up his cup and continued to sip at his tea.

"I was merely curious if he has opened up with anyone."

Remus watched the Headmaster closely.

"You think he's hiding something?" he asked.

"I have my suspicions," the headmaster answered. "But then we all do."

Remus' response was cut off by the sound of a loud knock. The door to his office opened and McGonagall walked inside.

"Minerva," Dumbledore greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"You can explain to her that we're not impostors." came a voice from behind her.

Dumbledore and Remus strained to look behind her, even the Transfiguration Professor turned around with an exasperated expression.

"I asked you to wait." She admonished.

James walked from behind her, followed by Lily, Ginny, Damien and a smiling Harry.

"I've always been impatient," James said smiling. He looked over at the shocked looking Remus and Dumbledore. "Isn't that right, Moony?"

Remus couldn't talk. His surprise filled eyes darted from James to Lily, to the seventeen year old Ginny to Damien. It was when he saw Harry that he let out a choked sound. He looked back at James and Lily, his two friends he had lost fourteen years ago.

Before he could say anything, Dumbledore had walked past him and came to rest in front of the new arrivals.

"I have done the necessary checks, Headmaster." McGonagall said from beside him. "The identity spells have all come back positive."

"And yet, she still doesn't believe us." Damien whispered to Harry.

"I'm sure you understand." Dumbledore said as he pulled out his wand.

"Of course we do." Lily said, elbowing James into staying quiet.

Dumbledore ran his wand down James first and then proceeded with the rest of them. He was silent the entire time. He came to Harry last and had barely pointed his wand at Harry when he pulled it back. He smiled warmly at Harry.

"Welcome back, Harry." he greeted.

That was all that was needed for Remus, who went straight for James, embracing his friend fiercely. He turned to hug Lily next, voicing his shock under his breath. James and Lily laughed as they hugged him back. Remus almost forgot Harry in his shock. He hugged the boy with great affection, ruffling his hair. He looked at Damien and extended a hand.

"You must be Damien." he said.

Damien shook Remus' hand, grinning at the bizarreness of the situation.

"I can't believe this, you're here." Remus gushed, turning back to James after meeting Ginny. "I just spoke to you, why didn't you say you were coming?" he asked.

"What? And miss this look of utter bewilderment? No way." James laughed. "I wanted it to be a surprise." He explained.

"I think it would be best if our guests are taken to the Headquarters." Dumbledore said to Remus. "There is much to discuss but I'm afraid here may not be suitable." He said apologetically to James and Lily. He turned to face McGonagall. "Is anyone else aware of our guests' arrival?"

McGonagall shook her head.

"No," she confirmed. "No one else knows."

Dumbledore understood she meant Umbridge.

"Excellent," he said. Turning back to face James and Lily, he smiled warmly at them. "I cannot tell you how good it is to see you both again." He said. "We will talk soon. For now it is best if you go with Remus to the Headquarters."

A slip of paper appeared in his hand which he handed to James.

"Just a minute, Dumbledore." James said, holding onto the paper. "Before we go I wanted to have a quick word with Harry." he looked at Dumbledore with a smile, barely concealing the excitement he was feeling at seeing his son again. "Where is he?" he asked.

xxx

Harry hit the wall with such force it was a miracle he didn't break any bones. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

"Aww, come on," Bella sang in a sing-song voice. "Stop fighting back. You'll get tired and cranky and then mummy will get angry."

Harry threw out his hand, sending Bella crashing backwards. She was up on her feet moments later.

"Bad boy!" she teased, sending another crucio at him.

Harry avoided the Unforgivable and clambered back to his feet. He was exhausted. No matter what he did or where he ran to, he couldn't find a way out of the Manor. He was lost in the maze like castle. Bella and Lucius were leisurely trailing him, catching him with curses.

Harry hurled another curse at Bella, forcing her to move out of the way. Harry ran in the opposite way, trying to figure out if he was going deeper into the maze like manor or if he was heading towards the exit.

He still had the two bartra bracelets encircling his wrists and as of yet, Harry had no clue how to get them off. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave until he got rid of them. He figured he would deal with that once he found his way out.

He had just turned the corner when two curses came blasting towards him. Both of them hit him in the chest and Harry was sent smashing straight into the double doors behind him. The door crashed open and Harry fell onto the marble floors.

Breathing heavily, Harry picked himself up, feeling a shooting pain in his leg. He stood up, ready to fight Bella and Lucius. It was then he noticed the man sitting comfortably in the high back chair, an amused expression on his face.

"Really, Harry. Do you have to make this so difficult?" Voldemort asked.

Harry looked behind him to the doors to see Bella and Lucius standing guarding them. He looked back at Voldemort.

"What do you want?" Harry spat at him, his voice breathless.

Voldemort stood up from his seat, walking over to Harry.

"The same thing I wanted from you when you first stepped foot in this Manor." He said. "You made a deal with me and then you went back on it. I don't like it when people do that." he said, his red eyes blazing at Harry. "I want that prophecy and you are going to get it for me."

Harry sneered at him.

"Is that it?" he asked. "The prophecy is why you and Bella are playing dress up?" he asked acidly. "What did you think, you apply glamour to look like the Voldemort of my world and then tell me to do something and I'll do it?" he scoffed. "Not a chance."

Voldemort smiled deeply.

"Ah, Harry. Your skills of deduction are abysmal." He said. "But don't worry, you will learn, if time permits of course." He added to himself.

Harry caught it, the slight flicker of Voldemort's finger but before he could do anything, his two inner circle Death Eaters had acted.

A twisting pain caught Harry, starting at both wrists and travelling up his arms and into his chest. The pain was to such an extent Harry forgot to breathe. His vision blurred and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground. The pain stopped, leaving Harry panting for breath.

Bella and Lucius stood on either side, wands pointed at his wrists; ready to activate the bracelets again if their master commanded it. Harry glared up at him.

"You can do what you like; I'm not doing anything for you!" Harry challenged angrily.

Voldemort leaned down, smirking at Harry.

"That's just the thing, Harry. You will do as I wish and you will do it not because you _have_ to but because you _want_ to."

Voldemort stood up straight, enjoying the look of confusion on Harry. He began his curse, his wand aimed at Harry's head.

Harry's eyes widened with panic as he recognised part of the spell.

"No! No, No!" Harry yelled.

He tried to get to his feet but fell back as Bella and Lucius activated the bracelets again. They kept Harry pinned to the spot by the excruciating pain of the bartra bracelets while Voldemort continued with his curse.

Harry's pain filled cries made no difference to Bella or Lucius. They kept the bracelets activated until Voldemort held up his hand, signalling them to stop. Both Death Eaters stepped back, leaving Harry curled up in the ground. His pain filled yells had stopped the moment they moved away from him.

Voldemort ended his curse and a jet of white light hit Harry, momentarily illuminating his whole form. The light diminished seconds later, leaving the chamber dark once again. Voldemort slowly kneeled next to Harry's unmoving form. Bella and Lucius watched silently, not daring to make the smallest of sounds.

Harry stirred, lifting his head slowly from the ground. He sat up using his trembling arms. He looked up around him and then at Voldemort, his green eyes unfocused. He blinked a few times before lifting a hand to his head.

"Harry," Voldemort started, his voice quiet. "How are you feeling?"

Harry looked back up at him dazedly.

"Disorientated" Harry answered.

Voldemort glanced at his two Death Eaters, who had now concealed their wands behind their backs, waiting to see if their plan had worked.

"Are you in pain?" Voldemort asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I'm fine," he answered, then smiled at Voldemort, "father."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He's baaaack! Okay, so now the Dark Prince returns for real! Just as James and co have arrived to take him back. What happens next? Review and you'll find out :)


	37. Losing Faith

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews!!

I'm so sorry for the delay. I have a very good excuse. It's detailed on my profile page! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

The door to Dumbledore's office opened and McGonagall entered, this time bringing two Gryffindor students with her. Ron and Hermione walked inside, looking worried. They had never been summoned to the Headmaster's office before. But when they saw who was waiting for them, their expressions changed to shocked surprise.

Harry grinned at the stunned expressions his friends wore. Hermione let out a squeal and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Harry! You're back!" she said excitedly.

Harry returned the embrace, genuinely happy to see his friends again. He only realised how much he missed Ron and Hermione now, when he saw them again.

Hermione pulled away, smiling brightly at him. Ron had joined them too and was grinning widely at his friend.

"Welcome back, mate." He greeted.

It was then that Hermione's gaze swept the room and her eyes widened almost comically at the sight of the other four visitors. James and Lily smiled at her and Ron, who had followed Hermione's stare and was now also gaping at them. Ron's eyebrows shot upwards when he saw the seventeen year old version of his baby sister, standing next to Lily.

"Ginny?!" he asked.

"Hi Ron." Ginny waved, grinning at him.

Ron and Hermione noticed the dark haired, hazel eyed boy standing next to Ginny, smiling at them. They guessed he was Damien but made no attempt to speak to him, they were too shocked. They looked back at their friend.

Harry moved closer to his family and with a smile introduced them to his friends.

"Ron, Hermione, this is my dad, James Potter and my mum, Lily Potter." he said, almost giggling at how bizarre the words sounded. "You know Ginny," he laughed as Ron and Hermione just stared at her. He turned to Damien and felt his heart swell at his introduction. "And this is Damien, my brother."

"Hi" Damien waved.

"Hi" Ron and Hermione mumbled back.

The Headmaster finally interrupted, having allowed Harry to have a private moment with his friends.

"Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, I apologise for calling you this late in the evening." He started, smiling slightly at the happy expressions the two Gryffindors wore. "But I was hoping you may be able to help us."

At once Hermione turned to face the Headmaster, giving him her full attention.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked.

"Would you happen to know the current whereabouts of Mr Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

Ron and Hermione shared a look with each other, their expressions darkening a little.

"No, Professor," Ron answered. "He left the common room shortly after dinner. We haven't seen him since."

James noticed the way the two had looked at each other. He shared a look with Lily. Both could tell the two Gryffindors were hiding something.

"You don't have any idea where he might be?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione and Ron shook their heads. Hermione lowered her eyes, a very noticeable guilty look on her face. Although she and Ron didn't know where Harry was, they knew he wasn't at Hogwarts. They knew without a doubt that Harry had disapparated from Hogwarts but telling Dumbledore that would betray Harry's confidence.

Dumbledore lowered his head, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Very well, thank you for your assistance. If you see Mr Potter please tell him to come and see me at once."

Both students nodded their heads.

Remus stepped up, clearly eager to take James to the Headquarters.

"We should go now." He said to James and the rest.

James looked to Dumbledore, not wanting to leave without seeing his son.

"I will personally accompany Mr Potter to the Headquarters when he returns." Dumbledore promised.

"Does he often disappear from school grounds?" Lily asked the Headmaster, annoyance clear in her tone.

"Not that I'm aware of." Dumbledore answered.

Damien leaned towards Ginny and muttered,

"Harry is so grounded."

Ginny smirked in response.

"Right," Remus looked to the rest, "we better get going."

James nodded before opening the folded piece of parchment. A smile appeared on his face.

"Typical" he muttered with a grin as he passed on Sirius' home address to Lily.

xxx

Remus opened the door quietly as not to disturb the portrait of Mrs Black. He didn't want to ruin the amazing surprise for Sirius. He was followed by James, Lily, Damien, Harry and Ginny all of whom had surprised reactions at seeing the state of the house.

"Where the hell did all of Sirius' house elves go?" Ginny asked as she saw the deteriorating state of the corridor.

"Maybe they were freed by Hermione." Harry volunteered, remembering her dedication to S.P.E.W.

Remus held up a finger to his lips and motioned towards the covered up portrait. The rest didn't seem to understand but stayed quiet at Remus' request. They followed him into the kitchen.

"You guys stay here and I'll go get Sirius." Remus said excitedly.

"Won't it be more interesting if I go get him?" James asked with a mischievous grin.

"Why don't both of you go?" Lily suggested tiredly.

"Dad, did you bring the phone with you?" Harry asked.

"Yeah" James answered and took the phone out of his pocket to show him.

"I have an idea." Harry grinned.

xxx

Remus found Sirius upstairs, going through old potion supplies.

"Hey Padfoot," he greeted. "What's all this?" he asked, gesturing to the pile of multicoloured vials.

"I was bored, so I thought I would clear up the potions cabinet. Molly's been nagging me to get it done." Sirius answered, lazily throwing another bottle onto the pile. He peeked inside the glass cabinet he was emptying. "Out of the two hundred bottles in here, only ten are helpful potions like, pain relief, healing fractures, blood replenishing. The rest," he pointed at the pile, "are all poison. Did you reckon my parents were planning on killing the entire neighbourhood?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Remus answered.

"Neither would I." Sirius admitted.

"I ran into Harry, today." Remus started, fighting to hide his grin. "I got the phone from him. Do you want to call and talk to James?"

Sirius' expression brightened at once. He threw the two bottles in his hands onto the pile, not caring to check if they were indeed poison or not. Remus pushed the green button and handed the phone to Sirius, who took it eagerly.

After two rings the phone clicked and James' voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Prongs!" Sirius greeted a wide smile on his face.

"Hey Padfoot," James answered. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Sirius answered. "And you?"

"A little confused." James admitted.

"Confused? Why?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"Well, I'm trying to remember which floor your supplies room is on again."

Sirius' brow knitted with puzzlement.

"My supplies room? You've never even been to my house. Why would you need to know that?" he asked.

"Well, I need to know if I'm going to find you." James answered with a laugh.

Sirius heard the footsteps fall outside his door.

"Never mind," he heard both through the phone and in the room. "I found it."

Sirius turned around to face the door, still holding the phone to his ear. He saw James standing at the door, holding a similar phone to his ear. Sirius blinked a few times to make sure he was really seeing James and it wasn't a horrible trick his mind was playing on him. But every time he opened his eyes he saw James still standing there.

Sirius watched as the grin faded from James' face and a look of horror crossed it. Sirius didn't understand why he was looking at him like that. James' wide hazel eyes scanned him from head to foot.

"Sirius?" he whispered.

It hit him then, why James was looking at him like that. The effect Azkaban had on his appearance was the cause of James' shock. Feeling conscious of his haggard appearance, Sirius ran a hand through his long hair. He gave James an abashed look.

"I wasn't expecting company." Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders.

James crossed the room in an instant and had Sirius in a strong embrace. Sirius wrapped his arms around his friend, the friend that had been like a brother to him, one that he had lost fourteen years ago and had never expected to see again.

"I'm sorry, James." Sirius said in a muffled voice. He had always wanted a chance to apologise to James, to say sorry for making him switch secret keeper to Peter, for not being able to take revenge for his and Lily's death, for failing to care for Harry. He had so many things he needed to apologise for that the word 'sorry' didn't seem enough.

James pulled away and stared at his friend.

"God, Sirius!" he choked out, not knowing what to say to him. He had never imagined Sirius to be in a state such as this.

Sirius looked behind James, to the doorway and saw the group of people gathered there. He saw Lily with the same look of shock on her face as James. He noticed Harry standing next to a dark haired boy, who Sirius deduced must be Damien, and the red haired, much older looking, Ginny Weasley.

"Sirius!" Lily rushed towards him, embracing him tightly. Sirius hugged her back, smiling tearfully.

"It's so good to see you again, Lils." He said.

Damien, Harry and Ginny stayed at the door, wanting to give the four friends a chance to properly meet after fourteen years.

xxx

Sirius sat at the kitchen table, still not able to believe the fact that he was sitting with James and Lily again. Remus was busy preparing tea for them, while Harry, Damien and Ginny sat silently, just watching Sirius interact with James and Lily.

Sirius turned to look at Harry and smiled broadly.

"Alright, kiddo?" he asked.

Harry nodded.

"Couldn't be better." he grinned.

Sirius' gaze shifted to Damien next, who was still staring at him.

Ginny softly elbowed him, whispering,

"Stop staring! It's rude."

"I can't help it." Damien whispered back.

"Damien, right?" Sirius asked. At the boy's nod, Sirius' smile deepened. "You look like James too." He noted.

"His personality is more like Lily." James informed him.

"Thank Merlin!" Remus joked.

A sudden banging sound cut off their discussion. Mrs Black's ear piercing screams started almost at once. The sound of pounding footsteps could be heard through the portrait's yells and shouts.

The occupants of the kitchen turned to look at the door, waiting to see who had entered the Headquarters in such a hurry. Damien thought it may be Harry, rushing back to see his family. He dismissed the thought, Harry would have just apparated here instead of running.

The kitchen door smashed open with a bang. Lily rose out of her seat at the sight of the breathless man standing at the threshold, staring at her.

"Severus" Lily smiled.

Snape stood at the doorway, his breaths coming in fast gasps, having run from the apparating point to the Headquarters. He hadn't even waited to hear what Dumbledore wanted to tell him. As soon as he found out Lily was here and was currently at the Order Headquarters he had rushed out of Hogwarts to come and see her.

Lily waited for him to say something or even to walk inside but Snape just stood where he was. He hadn't even noticed the others staring at him. His eyes were fixed on Lily and only her. His expression betrayed his disbelief and surprise at seeing Lily again. He stumbled back a little, as if his knees were threatening to buckle under him. He leaned against the door frame. For the first time in years, his expressionless mask slipped and his emotions came to the surface.

Lily moved from the table and walked over to him. Snape's dark eyes followed her, never leaving her face. Lily stopped before him, her emerald gaze darting over his face. She smiled sadly at him; she could read his emotions, just like she always could, and she saw guilt and heartbreaking remorse in every line of his face.

"Sev" She said quietly before moving closer and embracing him.

For the first few seconds, Snape didn't react. Then slowly his hands moved from the doorframe and gingerly wrapped around Lily. He closed his eyes, dipping his face against her shoulder, hiding it from view.

At the table only James remained unsurprised. Sirius was staring at Lily and Snape with an open mouth. Harry looked confusedly from his most hated Professor to his mum, his eyes darting to his dad for an explanation. Even Damien looked shocked.

"What…?! What is this?!" Sirius started.

"Oh, yeah," James said calmly. "I have to tell you something." He said. He smiled at the shocked expressions of all those around him. "You'll never believe this."

xxx

Snape and Lily stayed in the kitchen, talking for hours. James and the rest had moved to the living room, where James explained how Snape's feelings for Lily had been more that friendship.

Remus and Sirius were completely blown away. They knew Lily and Snape had been friends at the very beginning of Hogwarts. But they had thought the two had grown apart, especially when Snape started keeping company with the Slytherin Death Eaters-to-be.

Harry and Damien were equally shocked.

"How did I not know about this?!" demanded Damien.

"There was never any reason to tell you." James told him.

Harry kept shaking his head.

"Snape liked my mum," he repeated. "How is that even possible?" he asked.

"Snape knew your mum even before she knew she was a witch." James explained. "Actually it was Snape who told her she was a witch."

Harry's eyes widened dramatically.

"Snape is muggle born too?" he asked.

"His dad was a muggle." James shrugged.

"Why are you so cool about this?" Sirius asked.

James laughed.

"Why should Snape's feelings for Lily bother me?" he asked. "It doesn't matter how he feels for her. Lily loves me, she chose me and she's _staying_ with me." He grinned. "That's all that matters."

"You don't feel threatened, Mr Potter?" Ginny asked.

"By Snivellus?" James asked. "Not at all."

Harry looked up at his dad at the use of the offensive name, but he didn't say anything.

"He looked so heartbroken to see her again." Ginny said, looking in the direction of the kitchen.

"It couldn't have been easy," James said. "His master was the one who killed her. He was bound to feel guilty."

"He should!" Sirius said. "No one told him to join that monster!"

Remus looked thoughtful. He looked back in the direction of the kitchen but he didn't voice his thoughts.

"I wonder what they're talking about." Damien said.

"They have a lot to catch up on," James said. "So I'll give it another twenty seconds before I intervene."

xxx

Snape held onto Lily's hand, refusing to let his fingers slacken even a little bit. He just wanted to stay here with Lily, to hear her voice in his ears and keep his eyes fixed with hers.

"I can't believe you're here." Snape said quietly.

"You've already said that about fifty times." Lily laughed.

Snape smiled at the sound of her laughter.

"I've missed you, Lily." He said sincerely.

Lily tightened her grip on his hand.

"I'm here now, Sev." She said quietly.

"How long can you stay?" he asked, a definite note of sadness in his voice.

"Until my son arrives." Lily answered.

Snape's expression changed and a coldness entered his eyes.

"Ah, the obnoxious brat." He said, his lip curling.

"We usually just refer to him as Harry." Lily replied.

Snape sneered but not as intense as he usually did.

"I assume the boy I saw with you is your son too."

"Yes, that's Damien." Lily answered.

"How many little horrors did you end up having?" he asked a smirk on his face.

Lily knew Snape didn't mean any harm. He was just like this. She playfully glared at him.

"Two," she answered, "and for the record they're not 'little horrors'."

"Of course," Snape said. "They must be _big_ horrors, seeing as they are Potter's spawn."

Lily shook her head.

"I must say, I'm glad you weren't like this in my dimension."

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, what was I like then?"

"You didn't insult James or my kids." Lily told him.

"I can't see how that would be possible." Snape smirked. "I can't even see how I could have tolerated seeing you with that egotistical, big headed…"

"You saw how happy he made me," Lily interrupted. "And you were happy for me."

Snape gave her a look.

"Really?" he asked doubtfully.

"Well, no," Lily admitted. "But you weren't this bad. I guess you must have just got used to James. You both tended to ignore each other."

"Sounds like a good deal." Snape answered.

Lily shook her head and laughed at how childish men could be at times.

xxx

Bella opened the door quietly, her dark eyes scanning the room. Her master wanted her to check on the boy, make sure he had settled comfortably. Bella's eyes went to the large bed first hoping to see the outline of the boy fast asleep. She held back her groan at the sight of the perfectly made bed. She opened the door fully and stepped inside.

She saw Harry standing in front of the large mirror, studying his reflection. His hand lifted slowly to touch the faded scar on his forehead.

"I don't understand." He whispered, speaking to her but still facing the mirror.

"Things will be confusing for a while," Bella answered. "Until you settle again."

Harry looked away from the mirror and faced her, his green eyes still bloodshot from enduring the activation of the two Bartra bracelets.

"Why doesn't it hurt?" he asked. He touched his scar again, his green eyes never leaving Bella. "My scar, I can't feel it any more."

Bella stepped towards Harry, her features perfectly arranged to imitate an expression of regret.

"Master had to do that to save you." She explained. "Our Lord realised he could kill you, if the connection was to remain." She paused here, looking away from Harry. "It must have given Dumbledore great satisfaction to know you would eventually die because of the bond you shared with the Dark Lord. He was sorely disappointed when you survived."

Harry didn't say anything but dropped his hand away from his forehead. Bella gave him a moment before speaking.

"Come, you should rest." She said quietly.

Harry glanced over at the bed but made no move towards it. Again his confused eyes flickered back to Bella.

"Bella, where are we?" he asked.

An involuntary spark of annoyance went through Bella.

"Master explained everything to you." She said, trying to grasp onto her façade and remain calm.

"He did, but not in detail. He didn't explain why we're not in Riddle Manor anymore." Harry replied.

Bella turned to face away from Harry. She began walking over to the bed, preparing it for Harry as she spoke.

"We're in hiding." she answered. "After you were captured, Master knew it wasn't long before the Order would learn of our location. He arranged to move here. It was just as well; Riddle Manor was raided two days after we moved." She turned around to see the look of horror and guilt on Harry's face. She faced the bed again to hide her smirk, pretending to fix the quilt. "It couldn't be helped. Your Occulmency skills were never good, especially when facing a Legimens like Albus Dumbledore." She added, remembering her master's instructions to include this in their conversation.

Harry shook his head, guilt etched in every inch of his face.

"I wouldn't have told them anything. I couldn't have."

"You were with the Order for two years," Bella cut across him, turning to face him now, "that's enough time for them to make you talk."

"I would have thought they would send me to Azkaban." Harry said.

"They wouldn't do that. You were too valuable to them. They were torturing more and more information out from you. Besides, they knew Master could easily get you out of Azkaban. They didn't want to risk losing you."

Harry shook his head again, but it wasn't in denial. It was in shame.

"I let him down," he whispered. He looked up at Bella, clear pain in his eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything! I…I should have died rather than give them anything!"

The guilt in Harry was fast becoming anger. His fists clenched into tight balls and Bella could see the green orbs begin to darken.

"It's not your fault." Bella said, walking over to stand before him. "If anything, it's my fault."

Harry looked over at her at this, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Your fault?"

"I was the one you thought you were going to save." She said. "You fell for the Order's trap and they used my name to trick you." Bella said quietly. "You would never have fallen into their hands if it wasn't for me."

Harry closed his eyes.

"I remember that," he whispered. He opened his eyes, shaking his head. "I can't believe that was two years ago."

Bella studied the boy before asking him a question.

"I know Master already asked you this but, how much do you remember after being captured?" Bella asked.

"Nothing." Harry answered. "I don't remember anything!" Bella silently revelled in the look of panic and pain in Harry's eyes as he shook his head and looked desperately at her. "The last thing I remember is duelling with those Order members. I got careless and got hit by four curses. I don't remember anything after that."

Bella took a hold of Harry's hand and led him to the bed.

"Rest, it will all get better soon." She said.

"How?" Harry asked, anger in his voice now. "How will it get better? I don't remember anything, Bella! The last two years are nothing but a blank to me! I don't even know what information I gave to thee Order! I don't remember anything!"

"Because they took it from you; your memories of the torture they inflicted were taken away. They didn't want you to remember anything. That's why they kept you in a continuous state of confusion and used that to their advantage. Every time you faced them, you had no memory of the previous torture session and had no idea of what you were up against. You couldn't defend yourself against them if you didn't know what they were doing to you." Bella said. "That is why you can't remember anything after your capture."

Harry grew angrier, his emerald green eyes were now a dark poison green.

"I'll kill him." He whispered. "Dumbledore and his _Order_! I'll kill all of them!"

Bella stroked his arm slowly, lovingly.

"Yes, you will." She agreed, a smile on her face. "But first you have to sleep. Only when you regain your strength can you fight back."

Harry obliged by sitting down on the bed, still looking too angry to be able to rest.

"Bella?" he asked as she turned to leave.

"Yes, Prince?" she turned to face him.

"Father mentioned a plan, one to get back what was lost. What did he mean?"

Bella smiled again and brought a finger to her lips.

"Quiet, Prince. Sleep now. You will be given your assignment in the morning." She replied.

Over a hundred miles away, in a second floor bedroom of 12 Grimmauld Place, James Potter sat up in his bed with a start, having no idea what it was that scared him into awaking.

xxx

In the morning, Lily woke up to find James missing from the bed. She wondered into the kitchen to find James sitting alone at the table.

"How come you're up early?" Lily asked.

James shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to alarm his wife by telling her about the worrying feeling of dread building inside him.

"I couldn't sleep." He answered simply.

"Really? I was out for the count." Lily said, sitting down opposite him. "Dimension hopping is really tiring." She joked.

Noting her husband's lack of smile she reached over, touching his hand.

"James?"

James looked at her and smiled as warmly as he could. Before Lily could ask him what was wrong, the door opened and Sirius walked inside, still looking half asleep. He stopped at the sight of James and Lily sitting at the table. A smile, remnant of the one he used to have before Azkaban, spread over his face.

"Morning Potters!" he greeted.

"Morning!" both replied.

"I thought I would be a good host and get up early to fix breakfast." Sirius said.

"As sweet as that is, we have no wish to get food poisoning." James said, winking at Sirius.

"James!" Lily admonished.

"It's okay Lily flower," Sirius grinned. "Prongs has always been a fussy eater."

"By fussy eater, you mean someone who doesn't want to spend the better part of two days throwing up your cooking." James replied.

"That was one time, and it wasn't my fault. No fifteen year old boy can cook." Sirius argued.

"Then he shouldn't have bragged that he could." James smirked back.

"Boys, or should I say, men, behave please." Lily playfully scolded before getting up to fix breakfast. She wasn't going to rely on Sirius or his cooking.

The door opened and Damien and Remus came in, deep in conversation.

"Morning!" Remus greeted, smiling broadly at the sight of James and Lily.

"Morning" they greeted back.

Damien and Remus joined the two wizards at the table. Damien tried hard not to stare at Sirius but couldn't help it. Lily noticed and called to him.

"Damy, is Harry up yet?" she asked.

Damien shook his head.

"I told him to get up but he just rolled over and fell asleep again."

"Can you get him up, I want him to eat breakfast with us." She said.

Her tone gave away the unsaid words, that this was the last time they would have breakfast together. Damien got up quietly and left the kitchen. Sirius stared at the table as he spoke.

"When are you going back?" he asked quietly.

"Sometime today, probably." James answered just as quietly.

Sirius looked back at him, his eyes burrowing deep into James'.

"You can't stay?" he asked.

James didn't know if he meant a little longer or stay indefinitely. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"We can't really, dimensional equilibriums and all that." he said, regret thick in his voice.

"I'm sure a few days wouldn't hurt." Remus added.

"I guess," James agreed, "I'm not so sure how long we can stay without…affecting anything."

"I'm certain you would have to be here for months before anything will go wrong." Sirius quickly added. "I mean look at Harry, he's been here for what, five, six months? And nothing's happened, this dimension hasn't collapsed."

"I think that's because there was still one Harry in each universe, just the wrong Harry." James smiled wryly. "Now both are here in this universe. They can't both be here for long."

"He's very…different, your Harry, I mean." Remus commented.

James looked at Remus for a moment before responding.

"Both of them are my Harry."

Remus smiled at his friends answer.

"Of course." He answered. "I couldn't help notice how…distant he seemed. Does he not get on with our counterparts?" he asked.

"No, he gets on fine with you both. He's especially responsive to you." James said, nodding to Remus.

Remus looked surprised.

"Really? I thought he would get on more with his Godfather. Or did I get to be his Godfather in your universe?" he asked with a cheeky smile.

"It better be me!" Sirius said.

"It is you." James reassured him.

"Does he get on with me?" Sirius asked, picking up from Remus.

James paused before answering with a smile and a nod.

"Of course."

Sirius smiled happily at that. All three men sat in silence, listening to the sizzling sounds of breakfast being prepared by Lily.

"Harry told us about Peter," Sirius said suddenly.

Lily turned to look at him before her gaze fixed with James'.

"He did?" James asked, looking away from his wife and back at Sirius.

"We talked the night we found out he was from another dimension. After speaking to you on the phone, we talked to Harry about what happened in your world." Sirius carried on explaining. A wide smile spread on his face. "I'm glad Peter stayed loyal in one dimension." He said. "I wish he had done the same in this world."

James shared another look with Lily. Remus noticed the looks but didn't say anything.

A knock sounded on the door, before James or Lily could speak. The door opened and Dumbledore walked into the kitchen. James was on his feet at once. A spark of joy appeared in his eyes as he glanced behind the Headmaster, searching for his son. His expression darkened when saw Dumbledore was alone. Lily had come away from the stove and was also glancing behind the Dumbledore, searching for her son.

"He hasn't returned." Dumbledore informed them quietly.

The unsettling feeling of foreboding swept through James, making him shudder. Since waking up in the middle of the night, he hadn't been able to shake away the feeling that something really wrong had happened or yet was to happen.

"What do you mean he hasn't returned? Where is he?" Lily asked in panic.

"I'm certain there is no cause for concern," Dumbledore said, "I'm sure Harry is still at Hogwarts. He would have no reason to leave. Someone would have seen him leaving if that was the case and informed me right away."

James and Lily shared a worried look.

"Not really," James corrected. "No one would have seen Harry leave because he can apparate, even from a heavily warded place like Hogwarts."

Sirius and Remus' jaws dropped in stunned surprise. Dumbledore however looked like he had been waiting to hear these very words.

"How can he do that?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. He found he was able to push past wards ever since coming of age." James answered.

Before anyone could say another word, Damien came running into the kitchen, looking terribly alarmed.

"Dad! Dad! Something's wrong with Harry!" he yelled.

James rushed out of the kitchen, followed by Dumbledore, Sirius, Lily and Remus. Damien ran up the stairs, leading the way. Hearing the numerous footsteps, Ginny walked out of her room.

"What's going on?" she asked as the group ran past her to the room the boys had shared. She rushed behind them to see what had happened.

They all entered the room to see Harry twitching and turning fretfully on the bed, a hand clamped to his scar, gasping in pain. His eyes were shut, sweat clinging to his face.

"I came to wake him but he wouldn't wake up." Damien explained. "He started moaning in pain and then his hand flew up to his scar and he began crying out. I tried to wake him up but he's trapped in his nightmare!"

"It's not a nightmare." Dumbledore muttered, kneeling next to Harry, staring at him.

James and Lily were on either side of Harry, calling out his name, holding onto him to try and stop him from twisting and turning. But Harry was unaware of this, he was still submerged deeply in his vision and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't pull away from the terrifying sight before him.

xxx

Harry studied the crowd of men dressed in black robes gathered before him. He could see the shock on their faces. The effect his words, spoken only moments ago, had on the Death Eaters was highly amusing. He spoke then, and the chamber filled with his high cold voice.

"There are to be no misunderstandings. You will obey him, just as you obey me. Failure to show him respect will result in your death."

He turned then to his right and glanced at the dark haired boy standing at his side. Harry came face to face with his own counterpart. The eighteen year old stood calmly, a slight smirk on his face as he too took pleasure at the sight of the stunned looking Death Eaters.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked, again in the cruel cold voice.

Harry turned to look at him.

"Yes, father," he smiled, "I'm ready."

Harry felt something bubbling just behind his throat, closing it and making his breathing difficult. He snapped open his eyes with force just as the scream escaped him. He looked up at the blurry faces peering worriedly at him.

He pushed past the hands that were forcing him to remain on the bed. He was gasping for breath and only when he attempted to sit up did he realise how badly his scar was throbbing with pain. But he didn't care about that right now.

"Harry! What happened?! Are you okay?!" several voices asked.

Harry grabbed at the hands pushing against his chest, an attempt to make him lie flat, and held onto them.

"Dad!" he breathed, blinking at the blurry image of his dad standing over him.

"I'm right here, Harry." James comforted, tightening his grip on Harry's trembling fingers.

"Harry! He's gone…!" Harry gasped, "He's gone back to Voldemort!"

xxx

Remus set the hot mug before Harry and sat down next to Sirius. Harry took a drink, hoping the warm liquid could melt away the cold knot in his stomach. Unfortunately it did nothing to help him.

"Go through it again, Harry. Just once more." Dumbledore requested.

Harry began retelling his vision, taking care not to look at his mum or dad.

"I was dreaming, just nonsense stuff," Harry started. "Then it suddenly changed and I…I was him," he swallowed nervously.

"You were Voldemort?" Dumbledore confirmed.

Harry nodded tightly.

"He was in a chamber, talking with his Death Eaters. He…he was introducing them to…to Harry."

"And Harry was there? With him?" Ginny asked, scepticism heavy in her voice.

"He was standing next to him." Harry confirmed.

Ginny shook her head.

"I think you had a nightmare, that's all this was."

"You saw yourself what he was like," Sirius said. "All of us were trying to wake him up but we couldn't."

"That doesn't mean what he saw was a vision. It could just be a really terrible nightmare he was too deeply submerged in and couldn't wake up from." Ginny argued.

"I really wish it was that," Harry said quietly. "But I know what I saw. It's just like that time I saw Mr Weasley get attacked. I know when it's a dream or a nightmare and when it's a vision."

Ginny went quiet but shook her head again, clearly not believing a word. Damien sitting next to her was silent.

"What did Voldemort say to his Death Eaters?" Dumbledore inquired.

"He was telling them that Harry was in charge," Harry continued. "He told them they had to obey him, just as they obeyed Voldemort. Then he turned to Harry and asked him if he was ready."

"If he was ready?" Dumbledore asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

Harry nodded.

"I don't know what he was referring to. The vision just sort of started in the middle of Voldemort's meeting." Harry explained.

He lapsed into silence then, not knowing what else to tell them.

"What did you mean by 'Harry's gone _back_ to Voldemort'?" Remus asked quietly after a few moments.

Harry looked to his dad, meeting his gaze. He looked away from James, focusing instead on the table, not wanting to be the one to do the explaining.

Sirius was looking from father to son, picking up on the knowing look both shared.

"What is it? What is it you're not telling us?" he asked both of them.

James breathed in a sigh. He had no intentions of telling them about Harry's past when he first arrived in this dimension. He hadn't seen any reason to divulge that information. Now, however, it seemed important that he did.

"He meant exactly what he said," James started, ignoring the looks Lily, Damien and Ginny sent him. "Harry used to work for Voldemort."

The looks of horror on Sirius and Remus' faces made James instantly wish he could take back his words. He looked to Dumbledore to see him sitting quietly with his head lowered.

"Prongs?" Sirius managed to utter through his shock.

James looked at his friend with saddened eyes.

"Peter didn't stay loyal, Sirius," James said in a quiet, remorseful voice. "He betrayed us that Halloween night."

"But…but Harry said Peter never told Voldemort where you were. Harry had said Voldemort never came to Godric's Hollow." Sirius said at once.

"Harry was right, Peter never told Voldemort. He didn't have to." James said. "Peter took Harry to him instead." His words were met with horrified silence. James pushed on to explain his friend's betrayal. "Peter stole Harry when he was fifteen months old and took him to Voldemort. He handed him over to be killed but Voldemort changed his mind and decided to subject my son to a different sort of torture. He brought Harry up as his son."

James noticed as soon as he said the last few words Dumbledore closed his eyes and lowered his face. His expression was one of both understanding and sadness. Remus and Sirius looked terror stricken.

"I thought Harry was dead. I believed Voldemort would kill Harry because of the prophecy." James carried on. "I never looked for him, never tried, afraid I would only find the corpse of my baby. A short while later, the body of a small child was found and was believed to be Harry." James paused here, having the need to gather his thoughts before he could go on. "Two years ago, a met Harry by chance. I had no idea who he was but a Death Eater referred to him as Voldemort's son. The Order investigated and reported it was true; Voldemort had a son." James shook his head, anger lurking in his hazel eyes. "Only it wasn't his son but my son, my Harry, that he was using as an assassin."

Remus and Sirius' gaze swept over to the Harry sitting opposite them. Harry shifted in his seat and tried to ignore the way the two men had looked at him.

"The Order devised a plan and by luck, we caught him. It was then that we realised who the masked assassin was." James explained what happened after Harry was captured. Memories of how bitter and cold Harry was to him came back as he retold the events of the past two years.

When it came to revealing how Harry was brought up; believing the abuse he suffered at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters to be at the hands of his parents, James found he couldn't go on. Lily had to take over and explain as quickly as she could what they had learned from Harry's private pensieve.

Remus and Sirius looked positively sick now. Dumbledore still had his head lowered but he brought up a hand to his forehead, looking as if he too was feeling rather ill.

James told them how Harry escaped back to Voldemort before telling them how Harry found out the truth about his childhood and how that knowledge made Harry leave Voldemort for good.

"Harry was the one who destroyed Voldemort in the end. He fulfilled the Prophecy after all." He added cynically.

Remus understood now why Harry had avoided talking about Voldemort. It had bothered him that Harry offered no information about his world, about the Voldemort in his world. Now he knew why. He remembered how uncomfortable Harry had seemed when talking about growing up with James. He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he remembered Sirius' words; '_You must have had some childhood, growing up under James' __supervision__. He's nothing but a big kid himself!_' Only, Harry never grew up with James.

"If Harry was the one who killed Voldemort then why would he go back to him now?" Sirius asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"He wouldn't," James answered. He looked to Harry who had snapped up his head at his words. "I'm sorry, Harry. I respect what you said about knowing the difference between a dream and a vision but you are mistaken about this. Harry would _never_ return to Voldemort, not willingly. He never forgave Voldemort for abusing his trust, for lying to him. He would never join him again."

Harry swallowed heavily. He knew what he saw was real but hearing the confidence in his dad's voice was stopping him from arguing. He could tell James' trust in his counterpart was such that he was never going to believe his son would betray him like he had.

Ginny was looking approvingly at James. Damien and Lily both looked like they believed James too. They kept giving Harry apologetic looks.

"It's just because you never saw Harry yesterday when we arrived. It probably stayed in the back of your mind and you had a nightmare." Lily offered.

"You don't know that for certain," Remus argued. "How do we know for sure if what Harry saw was real or not?" Remus asked.

"It was real." A voice announced.

Everyone turned to the door to see Snape standing there. He looked straight at James as he spoke.

"I'm just after attending a meeting in which the Dark Lord introduced all of us to the _Dark Prince_."

xxx

James and Lily both were on their feet in moments.

"That can't be true!" Lily defended.

"I assure you, Lily, it is true." Snape answered, walking further into the room. "I was there, I saw him."

"There must be a mistake, Harry would never…" James started.

"Listen to me, Potter!" Snape snapped. "There is no mistake; Harry is with the Dark Lord, he is working for _him_ now."

Before James could argue, Dumbledore quickly intervened, asking Snape to explain what the meeting entailed in detail.

Snape confirmed what he saw when he was summoned this morning. He explained how Voldemort introduced them to Harry, who he referred to as his son. Voldemort's orders were clear; the Death Eaters were now under Harry's command, they had to obey and follow whatever instructions Harry gave out. None of them were permitted to speak to the _Dark Prince_. No one was allowed to question him.

As he retold the events of the meeting, James and Lily sat down, looking completely broken. They couldn't fathom the possibility that Harry had left them, willingly this time, and returned to Voldemort. Even Damien and Ginny were stunned into silence.

"It doesn't make any sense." Lily whispered, once Snape had finished. "Harry…he couldn't…" she closed her eyes, cradling her head in her hands.

James was silent, sitting with his hands folded and tucked under his chin, keeping his eyes lowered to the ground. He seemed lost completely in his own thoughts.

"Has Harry given any instructions yet?" Dumbledore inquired from Snape.

"Not yet, but we were alerted to stay ready. We may be summoned under his command at anytime." Snape answered.

"It seems strange that Voldemort would hand over all of his followers to Harry." said Dumbledore. "Voldemort is not one to relinquish control."

"That is not the only strange occurrence," Snape said. "The Dark Lord appears to be under a glamour."

James snapped up his head to look at Snape. Ginny and Damien did the same. Lily almost rose out of her seat.

"A glamour?" Dumbledore asked.

"His appearance is more…human." Snape put ironic emphasis on the last word. "The glamour is hiding his true face."

"Why would he do that?" Remus asked, more himself than others.

James spun to look at Lily, both coming to the same conclusion.

"That it!" James exclaimed. He turned to look at Dumbledore. "He's tricking Harry!" he exclaimed. "He must have done something! A memory charm most likely, he wouldn't be able to obliviate all of Harry's memories." James thought out loud. "That is why he's changed his appearance so Harry thinks he is _his_ Voldemort. It makes sense!" he exclaimed. "I _knew_ Harry wouldn't have gone back to him!" he said with obvious relief.

"Such faith," Snape mocked. "I hate to tell you, Potter, but your son is under no spell. He is doing everything by his own freewill."

"No, Severus," Lily spoke up. "Harry must be under a memory charm. It's the only explanation. Harry's relationship with Voldemort is…complicated," Lily said with difficulty, "but he hurt Harry, in more than one way. Harry would never want anything to do with him. " she said with full confidence.

Snape faltered for a moment before looking around at Dumbledore. When the wizard inclined his head sadly, Snape turned to look back at James and Lily.

"It's apparent that you know very little about the relationship between Harry and the Dark Lord." Snape said. "Harry has been in contact with him on many occasions, prior to this morning. I have it in good faith that Harry had also made a deal with the Dark Lord, the details of which I have not been able to uncover, yet."

"That's a lie!" Damien exclaimed.

Snape glanced over at the younger Potter with disdain.

"I suggest you keep quiet." he told him.

"Harry hasn't had any contact with Voldemort!" Damien carried on. "He would have told me if he had. Harry wouldn't keep such a thing from me." He said confidently.

"I asked Harry if he had any contact with Voldemort," James added. "He told me he hadn't."

"Then he was lying." Snape replied.

"My son doesn't lie." James said, trying his best to remain in control of his temper.

"I would have to disagree." Snape said, looking straight at the Harry Potter sitting across the table.

Harry had to give it to him. Even under such distressing circumstances, the Potions Professor never missed an opportunity to insult him.

"I don't care if you agree with me or not!" James said. "Right now, all I care about is what we have to do to get Harry away from Voldemort!"

Snape raised an eyebrow at him.

"_We_ don't have to do anything. _You_ can do all you like!" he hissed at him.

"Sev?" Lily pleaded. "You have to help us, please."

"Relax, Lily, he's going to help us. He just likes being a pain." Sirius growled at Snape.

Before Snape could respond, James stepped in.

"We don't have a lot of time. We have to get Harry away from Voldemort!" he turned to Dumbledore. "What do we do?" James asked.

"First thing," Dumbledore said. "We have to gather our forces. Voldemort won't give Harry up without a fight."

xxx

Within the hour, the entire Order was gathered and an emergency meeting was under way. Damien, Ginny and Harry were not allowed in the meeting and were waiting upstairs. James and Lily never imagined they would meet the counterparts of their fellow Order members under these circumstances. Most of the members didn't even get a chance to get over the shock of seeing James and Lily Potter alive and well before they were informed about Harry joining Voldemort.

Dumbledore offered a brief explanation of Harry's past with the Voldemort of his dimension, so the severity of the situation could be properly assessed. James and Lily ignored the shocked reactions of the members.

"It is unclear at this point why Harry has joined Voldemort." Dumbledore said, ignoring the offended expressions of James and Lily. "It is possible that Harry is under a spell or it could be that he has decided to work for him out of freewill. Whatever the reason, we must ensure Harry is taken away from Voldemort as soon as possible."

"How are we going to do that?" Tonks asked.

Suddenly Snape grabbed at his left arm with a hiss of pain, bringing the room's attention to himself. He rubbed at his left forearm furiously.

"Better decide what you're doing and quickly," Snape breathed out. "It seems Voldemort's second in command has something planned." He glanced at James as he said the last part, before turning to the door and walking out.

xxx

Dumbledore held back the Order members, asking them to wait a while, in case Snape sent them a message detailing what Voldemort was up to.

Most of the members took that time to speak to James and Lily. Those who knew the Potters like Molly and Arthur Weasley rushed to meet them. Others like Tonks hesitated a while before formally introducing themselves.

Unfortunately, James and Lily were in no mood for meeting anyone. The only thing that was occupying their minds was Harry and what Voldemort must have done to him to get him back on his side.

"It has to be a memory charm," Lily said worriedly. "He couldn't have obliviated him, the spell only removes immediate memories. If Voldemort is fooling Harry into thinking he is his Voldemort, then he needs to take away all of last years memories."

"Memory charms can be reversed." McGonagall informed her. "So let's hope it is that."

"Why would Voldemort go through all this trouble; applying a glamour, doing memory charms, what does he want from Harry?" Remus asked.

"How did he even know that his counterpart looked different?" Tonks asked.

"He visited our world." Lily supplied bitterly. "He must have learned more than we thought." She said looking back at James.

James remembered Harry saying he was certain Voldemort was behind the attack on Narcissa and Lucius. Maybe he got information out of them before he attacked them? Maybe he saw Lucius' memories and saw all he needed to trick Harry? James closed his eyes and took of his glasses to rub at his tired eyes.

"I don't know how Voldemort's done this," he said quietly. "But he'll regret it. I'll make sure of it!" he hissed. "He's not taking Harry away from me again."

"We'll get Harry back, Prongs." Sirius promised. "No matter what."

Dumbledore returned to the room and his stance alone was enough to quieten the rest and hold their attention.

"Severus has sent a message." He relayed holding onto the small crystal orb that served as a communication device. "Prepare to apparate to Diagon Alley. The Death Eaters have attacked."

There was no time for anyone to ask questions. All of the Order members made their way to the front door, preparing to exit the Headquarters and apparate to Diagon Alley. James started towards the door but was stopped by Dumbledore.

"James, I must insist that you stay here."

"Harry might be there with the Death Eaters." James said.

"I don't think it is wise for you to face him, not yet. I don't want Voldemort to know you and Lily are here." Dumbledore replied.

James paused for a moment before meeting the wizard's worried gaze.

"Harry might be there," he repeated. "I'm not staying back when my son needs me."

With that he walked to the door and left. Dumbledore turned to see Lily following him.

"Lily…" he started.

But the red haired witch was already out the door. With a weary sigh, Dumbledore followed behind them.

xxx

James arrived in Diagon Alley in the midst of a chaotic battle. The Order members that had apparated before him were already duelling fiercely with the masked Death Eaters. Most of the shops lining the street were already destroyed; the windows smashed, doors ripped apart and buildings set ablaze.

James scanned the scene before him, trying to spot Harry in the midst of the Death Eaters, but he couldn't see him anywhere. The number of Death Eaters vastly outnumbered the Order members. The Order had to tackle and duel with three or four Death Eaters at one time. James dove to the aid of a fellow Order member who was being attacked by three Death Eaters.

Dumbledore arrived just after Lily apparated. They joined in the battle, all the while trying to spot where Harry was. They couldn't see him anywhere.

"James!" Lily yelled, seeing him stupefy two Death Eaters. "Have you seen Harry!?"

"No!" James yelled back. "He's not here!"

Lily ducked as a spell came at her. "He has to be here!" she yelled back after sending a hex at her attacker.

James was suddenly propelled forwards as a spell hit him square between the shoulders. He groaned at the pain that spread across his shoulder blades like fire. He turned around and threw up his shield as another curse came at him. Throwing back the spell, James leapt to his feet to face his attacker.

A manic laughing reached his ears and the masked Death Eater standing before him reached up and removed the white mask. James' angry eyes met the heavy lidded eyes of a dark haired woman.

"What do we have here?" Bella said in her sing song voice. "The return of the dead!" she sent another curse at James which he blocked.

"I could say the same for you!" James returned.

He sent a curse at her but the witch blocked it. She smiled cruelly at him.

"Are you here looking for someone, Potter?"

James' grip on his wand tightened without him realising.

"Where is my son?!" he hissed.

Bella laughed heartedly.

"Your son? Tut-tut, you're so confused. He calls someone else _father_ now." She teased.

James gave in to his rage and attacked her as fiercely as he could. He sent curse after curse at her. Bella managed to shield against the attack, until one of James' cutting hexes got past her shield and hit her in the leg.

Bella stumbled backwards, caught off guard and her shield evaporated. James hit her with a stinging hex, aimed at her wand holding hand. Bella lost grip of her wand. She dove to the ground to grab it but before her fingers could wrap themselves around it, James had reached her and had his wand pointed at her head. He kicked her wand out of her reach. Bella looked up at him slowly, her hand still outreached.

"Tell me where Harry is," James hissed, aiming his wand right between her eyes, "now!"

xxx

Ginny apparated in Diagon Alley, holding Harry's hand in one hand and Damien's in the other.

"I told you it would work." Damien said letting go of her hand.

"I've never tried side along apparition with two people." Ginny replied.

"Guys," Harry said, bringing their attention to the surroundings.

All three stared at the destruction around them. The buildings set on fire were still burning fiercely, people were screaming for help. They could see some of the members of the Order duelling with the masked Death Eaters.

"Oh God!" Ginny whispered in horror.

They had overhead Sirius talking to Molly at the headquarters about the attack. Sirius was more than upset that Dumbledore hadn't allowed him to go and help and was talking loudly with Molly, who was trying to pacify him. When they heard that James and Lily had gone to Diagon Alley too in the hope of finding Harry, they decided to sneak away as well. Since Ginny was the only one out of three that could apparate, she brought the other two with her using side along apparition. But none of them had prepared themselves to deal with seeing such devastation.

"Watch out!" Harry yelled, pushing Ginny and Damien out of the way mere seconds before two jets of green lights exploded where they had been standing.

All three had their wands out and leapt to their feet. Ginny and Damien brought up their full body shields, taking care to keep Harry covered also. Harry was disarming as many attackers as he could.

They had to give up their shields and jump in different directions as another stream of killing curses came their way.

"Come on!" Ginny yelled, leaping to her feet.

She dodged the curses flying at her and ran towards a broken café sign. It was big enough for the three to take cover behind.

"What now?" Damien asked.

"Look for Harry." Ginny said. "That's why we're here. We see him, grab him and apparate back."

"Just one problem," Harry pointed out. "He doesn't want to come with us!"

"Then we'll just have to knock him out first!" Ginny said, risking a peek around their cover.

"This is Harry we're talking about!" Damien said annoyed. "We can't knock him out! We won't be able to get to him!"

Ginny glared at him.

"We're not completely useless, Damy!" she said crossly. "We can do this! Plus, Harry's spent time on you, training you. You can deal with this."

Damien didn't think he was anywhere near trained to fight Harry. There was also the slight problem that he didn't think he _could_ fight Harry, even if he had the skill set to do so.

"Where is he? I can't see him." Harry said, chancing a look over his cover.

"Oh, no!" Ginny exclaimed.

"What! Is it Harry!?" Damien asked.

"Look!" Ginny pointed.

Harry and Damien looked over at the direction she was pointing at. They saw James standing over a fallen Bellatrix, his wand pointed at her head.

xxx

Bella smiled up at James as he continued to glare at her.

"Do it!" she challenged. "You don't have it in you."

"Don't be so sure!" James hissed.

Bella cocked her head to the side, glancing at James.

"So typical!" she taunted. "Fighters of the light, so noble, so righteous!" she laughed her manic laugh again. "It's all about the greater good, isn't it?" she lifted a hand and gently, slowly stroked the wand pointed at her head. "Go on, Potter. Sacrifice your son for the greater good." She said quietly. "You will have to. You won't be getting him back."

She kicked out suddenly, catching James in the leg. At the same time her hand grabbed at the wand she had been toying with and attempted to wrench it away from its holder. James held fast and managed to hold on to his wand. Bella tried to get to her feet but James' curse hit her, throwing her a bodily in the air. She landed in a heap, hitting her head on the ground. James ran towards her, throwing another curse at her at the same time.

The jet of red light zoomed towards her. Just before it could hit her, someone stepped in the way, blocking Bella. James' stupefy curse was suddenly captured in a hand, the spell gathered in a ball of red light.

James looked up at the person that had caught the spell as easily as a ball. His eyes met the darkened green orbs of his son. Harry stood before Bella in a protective stance, his features twisted in an expression of rage, his dangerous darkened glare directed at James.

Harry pulled back his hand and threw the stupefy spell back at its caster. James moved in time to avoid the spell. The force with which Harry had thrown the spell was such that when it exploded on the ground it caused a thunderous blast. The sound attracted several Order members' attention.

James saw what was about to happen seconds before it happened.

"No!" he yelled as eight Order members pointed their wands at Harry and fired their curses.

Harry ducked low as he threw over his full body shield. The blue bubble protected not only him but the fallen form of Bella too. The eight curses slammed into the bubble but none managed to get through.

"Stop! Stop!" James yelled in vain as the Order members threw curse after curse. But none of them affected Harry's shield.

James watched as Harry held the shield in place with one hand. With the other he reached out and touched Bella's bleeding forehead. He pulled his finger away, stained with her blood. Bella watched Harry's reaction, just as intensely as James. The emotions that flickered over Harry's face as he stared at the drops of blood was something Bella had never seen before.

Harry looked at James, his eyes almost black now. With a growl, Harry closed his hand into a fist. He opened his fist to reveal a ball of light. He threw the ball of light onto the ground, causing a ripple of power to flow out, knocking over all those around him. James was thrown from the ground like the eight Order members that were attacking Harry and Bella.

Harry finally brought down his shield. He gripped Bella by the upper arm, dragging her roughly to her feet.

"You're injured," he ground out angrily. "Go back."

"No, I have…"

"You can't fight!" Harry interrupted her. "Go! Now! It's an order!"

Bella closed her mouth and bit down on her tongue to stop herself from reacting. She turned around and in an instant she was gone. Harry turned around to face the fallen men, his gaze scanning through them until they landed on James Potter. He let out another growl and darted towards him.

xxx

Damien watched in a horror stricken daze as Harry leaped towards their dad, who was just getting to his feet.

"Oh, no!" Ginny kept repeating again and again. She had both hands covering her mouth, her eyes fixed on Harry.

The Harry next to them leapt to his feet, wand clutched tightly in his hand and ran into the street.

"Harry!" Damien yelled after him.

"I'm not going to let him hurt dad!" Harry yelled back as he ran.

Damien and Ginny moved at once, taking out their wands to fight off the Death Eaters as they made to go after Harry.

Fifteen year old Harry ran across the street, dodging the curses aimed at him. Three times he cast stupefy at the masked men trying to stop him. He swerved to the side, jumping out of the way of an Unforgivable. Harry jumped back onto his feet, trying to get to his dad's aid as fast as he could. His path was blocked by Remus and Moody.

"Harry! Get down!" Remus yelled.

Harry ducked as Remus and Moody sent a flurry of curses at the group of Death Eaters taking aim at him.

"Get him out of here!" Moody instructed.

Remus grabbed Harry, dragging him to the side of the street.

"What were you thinking, coming here?!" Remus yelled.

"Professor Lupin, you have to help dad!" Harry shouted, ignoring Remus' question.

Remus looked over to where Harry was pointing. He saw James and Harry duelling.

"You have to help him!" Harry yelled.

"Stay here, and keep low." Remus instructed, pushing Harry behind a broken shop door.

Harry obeyed, watching frantically as Remus rushed towards James.

xxx

James blocked another one of Harry's curses, nearly losing his footing as Harry's spell slammed into his shield.

"Harry! Please, listen…!" he tried but the only response he got was another attack.

Feeling breathless, James struggled to stay standing as Harry's onset of curses smashed into his shield. Finally, his shield collapsed under the strain and James was hit in the stomach. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

He looked up to see Harry towering over him. James tried talking, he tried lifting his wand to disarm Harry but no matter how hard he struggled he couldn't do anything. He felt a coldness spread from his stomach to his limbs, to his face, to his tongue. He was paralysed. He struggled to keep his eyes open but whatever spell was taking effect was causing his eyesight to blur as well as drown out his hearing.

Harry aimed his wand at James' head. Just as he opened his mouth, a force slammed into him and threw him bodily to the ground. With a hiss, Harry sat back up to see a dark haired boy standing over James' fallen body.

"Harry!" Damien yelled, enraged. "What are you doing?!" he looked down at the unmoving form of his dad. "What have you done to him!?"

Harry stood up and eyed the boy with disdain.

"Who the hell are you?" Harry asked.

xxx

Damien stared at him, realisation slowly working its way through him. Harry didn't remember him. Whatever memory charm Voldemort had done had erased him from Harry's mind. He felt his insides freeze.

"You don't remember me?" he asked.

Harry gave him an amused look.

"Should I?"

Damien moved the hurt and shock to one side of his mind, he couldn't let that bother him, not right now.

"I know you're confused right now," he started. "But what you think is happening is all wrong. You're under a spell, a memory charm." Damien explained. "Voldemort has done this to you, he's using you! You have to fight it, Harry! You have to break out of it!"

Harry tilted his head to the side, studying the boy.

"I'd rather fight you instead." He said calmly.

Damien jumped back just as Harry took aim and fired a curse at him.

"Harry…!" Damien tried but Harry sent another curse at him.

Damien deflected the curse but was hit by the third spell. He felt a searing pain take hold of him as the spell hit him in the ribs. He fell to the ground, his wand falling from his fingers. He scrambled to sit up and grab his wand again but Harry was already standing before him, taking aim.

Damien reacted, kicking out at Harry's leg. Harry stumbled and Damien took the chance to scramble to his feet. He kicked out again, catching Harry's arm, disarming him of his wand.

Harry looked around at the boy, a smirk on his face.

"Not bad." He commented.

"Thanks, I've learned from the best." Damien replied, kicking out again.

Harry blocked the attack before kicking out, his foot slamming into Damien's stomach. Damien fell back, completely winded. Harry delivered another kick, this one at his chest. Damien fell to the ground, gasping in pain. Harry extended his hand to summon his wand. He looked over at Damien, who was trying to pick up himself up from the ground.

"It's been fun, kid," Harry said. "But I have work to do." He turned back to James, who was still lying motionless.

Damien forced himself to his feet and threw himself at Harry, grabbing a hold of his robes and pulling him back.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him!" he gasped.

Harry threw back his elbow, catching Damien in the face. Damien's head snapped back with the force of the blow.

Meanwhile Remus had managed to reach James' body, coming to kneel next to him.

"James! James! Can you hear me?" he asked.

James' eyes were still open but he made no move to acknowledge that he could see or hear Remus.

Remus checked his pulse, relieved to find one. The next moment he found Harry and Ginny coming to rest next to James as well.

"Dad! Dad!" Harry looked up at Remus. "What's wrong with him?!"

"I told you to stay there!" Remus responded.

"What's wrong with him?!" Harry yelled.

Remus shook his head.

"I don't know." he said.

Ginny was looking worriedly at James too.

"Dad," Harry shook his shoulder. "Dad? Can you hear me?"

James didn't respond.

Harry looked over to see Damien fighting with the other Harry. Damien's nose was bleeding but he was still refusing to give up.

Harry looked back at James, feeling his insides clam up at the state he was in.

"What did he do to you?" he whispered helplessly.

By chance his hand came to rest on James' stomach. James gasped suddenly, his eyes blinking furiously. His body twitched as the spell ended and James scrambled to sit up.

Harry and Remus helped James to sit up.

"Prongs? You okay?" Remus asked.

James nodded, coughing and gasping.

"I'm fine." He rasped.

He looked up to see the two boys fighting fiercely.

"No!" he gasped, trying to get to his feet. "Harry! Damien! No!"

Suddenly the screams echoing in Diagon Alley increased in intensity. It seemed pandemonium had broken out. Harry next to James hissed and grabbed at his scar. James turned to him at once, looking away from the fighting Harry and Damien.

"Harry!" he gasped, gathering the boy in his arms.

Harry forced his eyes to open, his fingers still pressed up against his scar.

"He's…here." Harry whispered with pain.

Remus and James turned around. James' eyes widened when he saw the hooded man walking towards them, flanked by his Death Eaters. The ruby red eyes were fixed on them, a look of surprise and anger in them.

Voldemort stopped a few steps away from James. His gaze shifted to the fifteen year old Harry in James' embrace. His eyes flashed and Harry cried out in pain. Voldemort looked away from him and his eyes focused on the other Harry.

His lips twisted into a smirk as he saw the sight of the two brothers fighting. Harry had just knocked Damien to the ground again.

"Harry!" Voldemort called out to him.

Harry stopped and turned to follow the sound of Voldemort's voice. Everyone had turned to look at Voldemort.

The Dark Lord glanced over at James before his cruel gaze shifted to Damien. He looked directly at Harry and uttered two words, as his hand lifted and a finger pointed at Damien.

"Kill him!"

James felt his knees buckle under him at the command. Desperately he looked back at Damien and Harry.

Harry looked back at Damien and raised his wand to aim at the boy's head.

"Avada Kedavra!" he hissed.

"No!" James yelled, darting towards him.

Damien moved, just as the jet of green light left Harry's wand and zoomed straight at him. He threw himself out of the way, narrowly missing the killing curse.

Harry took aim again. Before he could utter the Unforgivable, James had knocked into him, throwing him to the ground. Remus and Harry had reached Damien and had pulled him to his feet.

Fifteen year old Harry looked around to see his counterpart attacking James again. He had his wand aimed at him and was about to cast another curse at him. Harry pointed his wand at his counterpart.

"Expellarimus!" he yelled.

Harry's wand came flying out of his hand. At being disarmed, Harry looked around to see who had cast the spell. His eyes met an identical pair of green eyes. A look of shocked surprise flitted over his face. Harry narrowed his eyes at his younger counterpart.

"Harry!"

He broke away from the locked gaze and turned to face Voldemort. Behind them, Harry could see the blue robed Ministry Aurors appearing by apparition.

"We have what we came for!" Voldemort yelled. "Come!"

Voldemort disapparated, his Death Eaters following after him.

"Harry, wait!" fifteen year old Harry called out to him.

But all Harry did was extend a hand to summon his fallen wand before disapparating.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review to let me know what you thought! Cheers!!

P.S. Please excuse any mistakes, I'm very sleep deprived.


	38. Fatal Mistakes

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews!! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

Sirius looked up at the sound of his front door opening and quickly got to his feet. He rushed to exit the living room and see if his friends had returned from the raid and more importantly if they had managed to bring Harry back with them. The sight that met him made him hold his breath. The dejected looking Order members walked silently into the dingy hallway, heads dropped and eyes turned away from each other.

Sirius watched quietly from the doorway of the living room as James and Remus walked in after Kingsley, trailing behind them was Lily and Damien. Sirius' gaze narrowed at the bruises littered across the young boy's jaw and cheekbone. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when his Harry walk in behind the seventeen year old Ginny, appearing physically unhurt. Harry looked up to meet Sirius' gaze. Sirius could read the anguish in his godson's eyes and dropped his gaze finally to the ground as Harry sadly closed the front door behind him.

The Order members filed past Sirius, not saying a word to him. Sirius waited until his friends had approached him before walking back into the room with them. Ever since the Order members had left to go to Diagon Alley and left him behind, all Sirius could do was wait impatiently for their return. He hated the fact he was stuck behind closed doors while his friends and fellow Order members were out fighting and risking their lives. But now that the Order was back, he didn't want to ask them what happened, it was clear they had failed.

He sat down opposite James, taking quiet note of his friends' exhaustion.

"Was he there?" he asked quietly. He knew the only reason James had gone to the raid was to see if he could rescue his son from Voldemort's clutches.

James nodded, seemingly unable to speak. Sirius caught sight of James' hand as it moved to rest gingerly on his stomach, grimacing in pain.

"I'm sorry, Prongs." Sirius whispered.

He still had to be filled in as to what had happened but he could see from his friends' broken form, it had been bad.

xxx

Voldemort watched as his followers filed out of the main chamber. He nodded once to Bella, signalling that she could leave also. His only female Death Eater bowed before him and left.

When the door closed, the self proclaimed Dark Lord turned to face the only person left in the chamber with him. Harry had taken a seat as his father's men were taking their leave. Now that they were left alone, Harry looked up to meet the dark wizard's gaze.

Voldemort stayed where he was, mentally preparing himself to deal with the boy sitting casually across from him. He knew the boy was going to have questions, ones that he may not be able to fabricate answers for. His eyes blazed in anger as he thought about whom he had seen at Diagon Alley earlier today. He had never planned for the other Harry to come back, not so soon. His appearance had almost ruined everything, almost cost him his carefully thought out plan. Voldemort pushed down his anger at seeing the boy look curiously at him, having read his emotions. He looked away from him.

"You have questions, ask them." Voldemort commanded, still not looking at him.

Harry sat in silence, but his eyes never left the wizard's face.

"Do you think it will work?" he finally asked.

Voldemort looked at him but stayed silent, waiting for clarification.

"Johnson, do you think he will talk?" Harry explained.

Voldemort was surprised. He was expecting a different question.

"He will, eventually." Voldemort answered.

Harry nodded, looking thoughtful.

Voldemort watched him, waiting for the question to come. But Harry didn't look like he was going to ask any further questions. He looked content to sit there in Voldemort's chambers.

Voldemort had seen enough memories of the alternate universe to know that his counterpart allowed Harry to spend time in his chambers with him. How he managed to stand the brat, he didn't know. Just the sight of the teenager sitting in the chair, his long legs spread out comfortably before him, was making the Dark Lord want to aim a Crucio at him. No one was allowed to sit with him as an equal, _no one_.

Repressing the growing urge to hurt him, Voldemort walked over to his chair and sat down. A few moments of silence passed. Harry shuffled in his seat and Voldemort knew, without looking, that the boy had twisted in his seat to face him.

"Are you going to mention it at all?" Harry asked, a note of annoyance in his voice.

The insolent tone caused another surge of rage in Voldemort but he pushed it back. He needed Harry, after that Voldemort could kill him, but not before that.

Arranging a calm expression on his face, the Slytherin descendant faced Harry, pretending to look concerned.

"The look alike." he addressed.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Did you know about him?" Harry asked.

"I did," Voldemort answered. "But don't worry, he won't pose a problem." But the truth was Voldemort knew exactly how big a problem the other Harry could become. He hadn't thought the younger Harry would have returned to this universe just yet. Voldemort was planning on letting the prophesised one die while still trapped in the other universe. Once he had got what he wanted from this Harry, he was going to kill him and let the universal equilibrium take care of the other Harry. Well, now that he was back, he would have to take care of him as well.

"Pose a problem?" Harry echoed, his eyes narrowed in annoyance now.

"He's not worth worrying about," Voldemort dismissed carelessly. "His purpose has failed."

"Which was what exactly?" Harry asked.

"It should be obvious." Voldemort answered. "He was supposed to be you. It was in accordance with the plan that Dumbledore devised after you escaped from his clutches. He wasn't going to admit to the wizarding world that he lost you. He's pretended to the world that you have changed sides; that you have turned to the light."

Harry's anger was evident in the darkening of his eyes. He glanced away from Voldemort and closed his eyes, working furiously to calm the pounding of his heart. He opened his eyes again to reveal them to be their usual emerald green.

"He doesn't look like me." Harry said quietly. "He's different."

Voldemort smiled and stood up, walking towards Harry.

"Of course he looks different. That's how Dumbledore planned it. He's told everyone you changed after I severed the bond between us. He thinks that once I take back my heritage from you, you will transform to look different. He knows himself it's not true. He knows I only severed part of the bond, the part that was hurting you, destroying you. But you still are a part of the Slytherin bloodline and always will be. Nothing can change that. Dumbledore knows that but he knows no one else does. He's fooling them, like he always has."

"Isn't he concerned what his followers will think when they see me and realise the other Harry is fake?" Harry asked.

"He was certain you wouldn't survive when you escaped, and with good reason." Voldemort looked Harry in the eyes as he continued. "You were as good as dead when we found you. If Lucius and Bella never brought you to me in time, you would have died."

Harry was silent, eyes troubled and anguished. He shook his head.

"I wish I could remember what he did to me." He said quietly, mostly to himself.

"You will," Voldemort encouraged. "soon." He promised.

Harry's eyes flickered to the door through which all the Death Eaters had left moments ago. He looked away again, choosing to look at his own hands, balled into fists, resting in his lap.

"Do you believe Dumbledore still has it? He may have destroyed it already." Harry asked.

"It's a possibility," Voldemort said, mentally congratulating himself in succeeding to finally convince Harry. The boy was still unsure but slowly coming around to the lie. "There's only one way to find out."

Harry nodded and fell silent.

"Harry," Voldemort called.

"Yes, father?"

Voldemort smirked in satisfaction at the word.

"Once we get the location from Johnson, we need to act fast. There is no doubt in my mind that Dumbledore will be making arrangements as we speak. We have to get there before he does."

Harry nodded again, green eyes glittering with determination.

"We will, father." He said confidently.

Voldemort smirked mentally at his next words.

"I also want you to fulfil one other task."

Harry watched his father curiously, tilting his head to the side a little. Voldemort continued. "The command I gave to you today, in Diagon Alley. I need you to complete it."

Harry appeared confused.

"Command?"

Voldemort held back the annoyance. He had thought the boy would catch on to what he meant. Apparently not, he was going to have to say the words clearly.

"I told you to kill the boy standing in your way. You have yet to complete that task."

Harry looked taken aback. Surprise flitted across his features as he straightened in his seat.

"The kid?" Harry asked. "You want me to kill him?"

"Yes." Voldemort answered.

Harry paused for a moment before opening his mouth to ask a one worded question.

"Why?"

Voldemort felt his smirk slip from his face. He stared at he boy before him. He knew the boy was nothing more that a servant to his father's wishes. Harry had killed on Voldemort's orders before and never had he questioned 'why'.

"Since when do you need reasoning to complete your assignments?" Voldemort asked, barely able to keep the hiss of anger out of his voice.

Harry stared back at him.

"I have never questioned your assignments, mostly because there was never any reason to. I do what you ask and always will," Harry assured. "But you have never involved children in your fight before. Why do you need me to track down a kid and kill him? Why this kid? Who is he?" Harry asked.

Voldemort could feel his resolve to keep from hurting this boy slip away. He was furiously trying to control his anger, keep to his plan; it was worth it in the end.

"That boy is no one." Voldemort said, managing to keep his voice steady and free from rage. "A nobody that you wasted your time fighting with. Were you not aware of the Ministry Aurors apparating around you? If you had spent anymore time duelling with that boy instead of finishing him in a heartbeat, you would have been caught, again!"

A look of shame washed over Harry's face but he boldly kept his eye contact with Voldemort.

"I could have handled them." Harry argued.

"You could if you weren't distracted, like you were today." Voldemort corrected, rising to his feet. "I don't want to involve children in this fight, but if they come themselves and block our ways, we have to take them down."

Harry looked uncomfortable but he nodded his head again, giving his non verbal agreement. Voldemort gazed down at him cruelly.

"Finish him!" he ordered.

Harry looked up at him with surprise.

"But…"

"I want him killed. Complete this assignment before we move on." Voldemort stated.

Harry stared at the red eyed wizard for a moment before slowly standing up. He stood to his full height before shaking his head.

"No" he uttered quietly.

Voldemort stared at the defiant boy standing before him. Voldemort balled his fists to stop himself from reaching for his wand and killing him right there and then.

"What did you say?" he asked with quiet fury.

"I won't kill him, not like this." Harry said.

"You are refusing a direct command of mine?" Voldemort asked.

Guilt flashed on Harry's face but he pushed past it.

"Father, you ordered me to kill him when he was duelling with me. I did what you asked because your order made sense, he was in my way. I fired the killing curse at him but he escaped. I would have got him if it weren't for Potter." Harry stared at Voldemort, eyes locked to his. "But going after him now to kill him, it doesn't make sense."

"I don't care what makes sense or what doesn't!" Voldemort hissed angrily. "You are my son, my right hand and you are refusing to do what I ask!"

"Father, I will always do what you ask." Harry answered. "But what you are asking me to do isn't a part of our fight. It isn't why we're fighting! We don't kill children!" Harry tried desperately.

"You leave the purpose of our fight to me!" Voldemort hissed back. "Do what you're told! Kill that boy!"

"Father…!" Harry started in a frustrated voice.

"You are testing my patience, Harry!" Voldemort snarled.

"And you're testing my obedience!" Harry hissed back furiously.

Strained silence fell between them. Both wizards were glaring at each other.

"I have done what you have asked, never questioned you, never asked for any reasoning." Harry said quietly, still keeping his gaze fixed to the burning red eyes. "But if you want me to kill a kid, you are going to have to give me a reason."

Voldemort didn't speak, afraid that if he did, he would end up killing the boy. Finally, Harry looked away and let out a deep breath. He looked back at Voldemort as he spoke.

"If I see that kid again, if he crosses my path or gets in my way again, I swear to you, I will kill him without a second thought." Harry vowed. "But if you want me to creep into his room in the dead of the night and slit his throat as he sleeps, that I won't do!"

Voldemort still didn't speak, his anger and rage turning him mute. A loud knock on his door made both wizards look over towards it. Voldemort wandlessly opened the door to reveal Lucius standing at the threshold. The aristocrat bowed deeply before Voldemort and Harry.

"My Lord, it is done. We have the location."

Harry looked back at his father, seeing the look of anger in his eyes dissipate slightly. Voldemort nodded his head at Lucius.

"Good."

"Is it where we thought?" Harry asked with notable anticipation.

"Yes." Lucius answered.

Harry turned to look at Voldemort, brow creased with worry.

"There must be a way to get in there." He muttered.

Voldemort moved towards Harry, a firm grip once again on his desire to kill the prophesised one.

"There always is." He assured him.

"My Lord?" Lucius called for attention. "Now that we have the location what are your instructions concerning Johnson?"

Voldemort smirked.

"We have no more need for him. Kill him." he ordered simply.

Lucius bowed before leaving. Voldemort turned to see Harry looking at him.

"We're nearly there, aren't we?" Harry asked.

Voldemort smiled deeply.

"Yes, very near." He said, mentally adding that by this time tomorrow he would have what he needed and he would no longer need to restrain himself from torturing the boy to death. He smirked glancing at Harry again. 'Soon' he thought to himself. '_Very soon_'.

xxx

It was almost midnight but no one in twelve Grimmauld Place could sleep. All the occupants were seated in the living room. Lily usually never let Damien stay up so late but tonight she found she didn't mind. In fact she found herself unable to take her eyes off him.

For the tenth time that night, Lily found herself on the brink of a panic attack. Every time her eyes settled on the fading bruises marring the fifteen year old's face, her heart started racing, her palms started sweating and she could feel her breath hitch in her chest. '_Avada Kedavra_' the hissed words, spat out by her eldest son to take the life of her younger son kept swimming in her head.

_Harry_

Harry had done this to Damien. He was the one who had hurt his little brother, had beaten him and had _almost_ killed him.

Lily took her head into her hands again, focusing on her breathing, trying to steady it as best she could. Her hands were trembling as she remembered that horrid green light heading straight for Damien. If he had been hit…Lily squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to stop imagining herself holding her son's dead body in her arms. Nothing had happened, Damy was fine, he was perfectly fine and still breathing. He had moved out of the way, he had used the skills taught by his brother and escaped from the same brother's attack.

She knew none of this was Harry's fault. He was under Voldemort's memory charm. He wasn't the one in control anymore.

Her eyes opened and she lifted her head slightly to see Damien sitting quietly on the worn out rug before the fire, Ginny sitting across from him and Harry next to her.

For a room filled with seven people, it was deathly quiet. Everyone was deeply lost in worrying thoughts. James had not spoken a word since he had returned. He sat in complete silence, Remus on one side of him and Sirius on the other.

Harry was watching his dad carefully. He was worried for him, he had refused to let Poppy Pomfrey check him over. He wasn't interested. Harry and Remus had informed the nurse that James had been hit with a spell that had caused paralysis. Harry still remembered her shocked expression.

"_I wasn't aware such a curse existed._" She had told them. "_How did Mr Potter recover?_" she had asked next. "_I would have assumed a dark curse, such as this one, would be irreversible. The paralysis would have affected the main organs, shutting them down, causing imminent death, giving the victim no more than a minute or so to live._"

Harry didn't know how but somehow he had managed to end the spell his counterpart had cast. He hadn't told Madame Pomfrey that he was the one to have ended the spell, partly because he had no idea how he did it. He was just grateful that his dad had survived.

He looked over in sadness at his dad's broken form. He could see how much all of them were hurting, his dad, mum, Damien and Ginny. Seeing Harry with Voldemort again, it wasn't easy.

Remus' gentle voice broke the thick silence at last.

"We'll get him back." He said, aiming his words at James. "You heard what Dumbledore said, we still have hope."

Lily looked around at him, keeping her lips pressed tightly together, to refrain from speaking. They didn't know how empty Dumbledore's speech was. Mirroring her thoughts, James finally spoke.

"We can't get him back." he brokenly admitted.

Remus quickly started to offer support and encouragement to his friend.

"Don't think like that, Prongs. You heard Dumbledore, he said he's confident Harry is under a memory charm and memory charms can be reversed. All we have to do is get to Harry. Once we have him, Dumbledore can remove the charm. Harry will be free again."

James turned to look at Remus, his hazel eyes strangely vacant, despite the glistening unshed tears.

"That's just the problem. We can't _get_ to Harry. How can Dumbledore or anyone for that matter, try and remove the memory charms if they can't get near him?"

"The Order captured him once," Sirius said quietly. "We can do it again."

James shook his head.

"That was different, Harry was only sixteen then and he was taken by surprise. Now he's eighteen, he has come into his power and is much more vigilant than before." James held his head in his hands, feeling nausea set in again. "We can't get to him." he whispered feeling utterly defeated.

Dumbledore had explained that in order to remove the memory charm on Harry, he needed to be with Harry for a substantial amount of time. Casting a memory charm takes a moment but to remove it is a tricky and time consuming task. James remembered the analogy Dumbledore had used to explain the charm,

'_Consider the memory charm to be like an octopus, with its many limbs wrapped around the mind. You have to carefully peel away each and every limb before attempting to cast the charm out. Otherwise forcing it from the mind while it's still wrapped and embedded into the mind will cause it to rip parts of the mind out with itself. If that happens, Harry would haemorrhage to death._'

That meant that the removal of the charm couldn't be performed in haste. Harry had to be captured and brought before Dumbledore and would have to be kept before him for however long it took to extract the charm. No one other than the Hogwarts Headmaster was talented enough to remove Voldemort's memory charm without killing Harry in the process.

"Maybe we don't have to capture him. Maybe we could trick him?" Sirius suggested.

"How?" Lily found herself asking. "What can we do in the short space of time we have? We know Voldemort has taken Harry for a specific reason. Once that reason is fulfilled, he won't need him anymore. We don't have time to set up traps, Harry could…" she choked on her tears, unable to carry on and finish what she was saying. She didn't need to; everyone in the room knew what she was going to say. Harry would be killed the moment Voldemort got what he wanted.

Ginny suddenly rose to her feet and ran to the door, yanking it open and running full speed out of the room. Harry had seen the tears run down her cheeks as Lily was talking. He could tell she was reaching her breaking point. His mum's words had just pushed her beyond it.

Lily dropped her head into her hands at seeing Ginny run out. She shook her head in remorse. She didn't want to upset Ginny; the poor girl was going through enough already.

xxx

Ginny ran until she reached the fourth floor of the house. She had no idea where she was going, she just had to keep moving, to get as far away from the others as possible. She didn't think she could listen to anymore.

She stopped in the dark corridor of the fourth floor and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Silently she slid down the wall, feeling the peeling wallpaper rub against her back. She sat on the floor not caring that it was dirty and cold. She hid her face behind her hands and cried as silently as she could.

Everything was lost, she would lose everything if she lost Harry. She had crossed dimensions to get to her Harry, she had spent five months away from him, missing him terribly and now that it was time for them to get back together, she had lost him.

She had stayed silent and somewhat strong during the chaos of today. She had stayed by Damien's side, making sure he recovered from the battle he had with his brother. She had been the one to comfort him after his near death experience. She was the one who had tended to him, along with Lily and had applied the necessary salve on the bruises he had sustained. She did that, not only because Damien was her good friend but because she knew Harry would want her to, to look out for Damien, just like he always had.

Fresh tears burned at her eyes and she furiously wiped at them. Harry would never be able to get over what happened today. Even if by some miracle, a miracle she was praying desperately for, Harry came back to them and was freed of Voldemort's memory charm he would never be able to forgive himself. He nearly killed Damien, the brother Harry was fiercely protective of, the first person to have gotten through to Harry when he first came back to the Potters.

Harry would never get over what he had done and it was this knowledge that was making Ginny cry harder. Damien would never hold this against Harry, she knew that. He would forgive Harry in a heartbeat but what about Harry? Would he ever forgive himself?

A scrapping sound made Ginny look up. She halted her sobs waiting to see if she heard the sound again. Nothing happened in the cold dark corridor. The only sound she could hear was the pitter patter of the rain, falling heavily on the windows. Ginny let out an exhausted breath. She was imagining things. She was bone tired, all that crying had taken the last of her strength. She wiped at her face, drying it the best she could with her hands. Sniffing, she gathered herself and stood up. She had to be stronger, she had to support Damien. He was distraught right now.

She started moving back down the corridor when another sound halted her steps. There it was again, a slight creak. Was it the floorboards? Was she making the sound or was there someone with her in the darkened corridor?

Gripping her wand, Ginny turned around, peering into the dark. She took one step, holding her wand before her when it happened. She felt a strong, painful grip on her wrist. Whoever had grabbed her pulled her forward sharply, leaving her no time to elicit a scream. A hand clamped down on her mouth, stopping the gasp from leaving her. She was pushed roughly against the wall, her back hitting the wall hard. Her painful whimper was muffled by the hand gagging her. A painful twist of her restrained hand and Ginny's wand fell from her grasp, hitting the floor with a clatter. Her frightened brown eyes searched the shadow towering over her and she felt a scream gurgle deep in her throat when she noticed the emerald green eyes of her attacker.

_Harry!_

Ginny was suddenly pulled along, dragged deeper down the corridor. Ginny fought as much as she could, banging her fists and kicking out, trying to get free but her abductor's grip never wavered. They passed by one of the wall torches that was still emitting a faint glow of light and Ginny saw that it was indeed Harry that had her in his fierce grip. His hair was wet and dropped over his forehead, almost falling into his eyes.

Ginny tried screaming, she tried fighting him but she couldn't do anything to stop him. Harry opened one of the doors and dragged the struggling Ginny inside with him before kicking the door to close again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I hope you enjoyed that! Please review to let me know what you thought!! Cheers!!


	39. Plans

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all your reviews. Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

No one slept that night. Lying in his bed, fifteen year old Harry couldn't help but listen to the whispers of various voices, flitting through the old house. He could just about make out his dad's voice coming from the next room. It sounded like he was talking, or arguing with Sirius. Harry tried not to pay attention to him; he didn't want to hear just how much pain his dad was in. He didn't think he would ever forget the anguish he saw in his father tonight. He was heart-broken. Any attempt of Sirius and Remus to comfort him and offer hope was pushed aside.

Harry turned his face away, pressing himself away from the wall and away from his father's pain filled, pleading voice. His eyes searched the room for a distraction and he found it on the bed across from him. He studied Damien, lying flat out on his back, eyes wide open and turned to the ceiling.

He hadn't spoken a word.

Ever since returning from Diagon Alley, Damien hadn't spoken, to anyone. Hesitantly, Harry called out to him.

"Damy?"

Damien didn't answer. He didn't look like he even heard him. Harry sighed softly, wishing the boy would open up to him. Just as he made to turn away, he heard Damien's quiet reply.

"Yeah?"

Harry paused, unsure of what to ask him. Asking him if he was, 'okay' was plain stupid. It was clear that he was not okay.

"Can't sleep?" Harry asked instead.

Damien shook his head, then added a small verbal 'no' as well.

Harry raised himself up, leaning on one arm.

"I'm not going to ask you if you're okay or if you want to talk about what happened today." Harry said.

Damien finally peeled his gaze away from the darkened ceiling and looked in Harry's direction.

"No?" he asked.

Harry shook his head, glad to hear a hint of curiosity in the other boy's voice.

"No" he confirmed.

After a pause, Damien asked, "Why?"

"Because you're my brother and we're very much alike," Harry answered. "And like me, you'll answer that you're fine, you don't need to talk about anything, that nothing happened and everything is fine."

Damien turned his head away from Harry. Even in the limited light available, Harry could see the small sad smile on the boy's face.

"Yeah, that sounds like Harry." He whispered.

"Just know that...I'm here. Whenever you need to work this out, I'm here." Harry offered.

Damien didn't respond. After waiting a few moments, Harry lay back down.

"Thanks." Damien whispered.

Harry closed his eyes hoping sleep came soon, to all of them.

xxx

Harry followed Damien into the kitchen the next morning, stomach rumbling noisily for breakfast. He walked in to find the adults were already awake and gathered around the table, much like yesterday morning. Harry guessed that none of them had slept much; tell tale signs such as dark circles under puffy looking eyes and tired expressions adorned their faces.

Lily offered the boys a meek smile in way of a greeting before getting up to fix them their breakfast. Remus joined her, setting up two mugs for tea. Harry sat down opposite James, noting straight away that he looked calmer this morning. Damien voiced Harry's thoughts out loud the next moment.

"You look better today." He said.

James smiled tiredly at him.

"I've had time to think," he responded. "I've planned a strategy or two."

Damien straightened up at once.

"What do you have planned?"

James opened his mouth to speak but a loud noise distracted him. The occupants of the kitchen looked around in surprise as Sirius barraged his way into the kitchen. He headed straight towards the table and slammed a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of James.

"Have you seen this!" he seethed, pointing at the newspaper.

Harry and Damien got up and moved towards their dad, as Lily and Remus walked over to join James, to read what the paper had published now.

"Oh no," Lily muttered, closing her eyes and bringing up a hand to her forehead. "Oh no!"

Harry read the front page silently, trying take in what had happened. It was inevitable really. He should have seen this coming. What happened yesterday in Diagon Alley was bound to be reported in every newspaper belonging to the wizarding world. Not only was one of London's busiest wizarding area attacked, it was also where Voldemort chose to unveil his comeback. The Ministry had been vehemently denying his return, calling Harry and Dumbledore liars and attention seeking trouble makers, but now Voldemort had decided to make a public appearance and that was enough to make the headlines. But what came with that was the sighting of not one but two Harry Potters.

"It's over now!" Sirius ranted angrily. "Harry's life is over!"

Harry looked up at his godfather, stunned at those words.

"Sirius..." Remus started but the dark haired man brushed him away.

"Don't pretend this isn't bad, Moony! This is very, very bad!" he said, raking his hands through his hair as he paced.

Remus swallowed the rest of his words, looking back down at the paper. Harry read the last part of the article, still staggered that the front page news was not only about Voldemort returning but about how there were two Harry Potters amongst them.

'_...according to numerous eye witness accounts, Harry Potter was amongst the Death Eaters in yesterday's devastating attack on Diagon Alley. There seems to be much confusion as to why the Boy-Who-Lived was there and more importantly why he was working alongside the Death Eaters! But even more shocking are the reports that indicate there was in fact __**two**__ Harry Potters present. We are told that there was a difference in the two wizards' appearance but both were undeniably Harry Potter. _

_It has yet to be confirmed which wizard is the __**real**__ Harry Potter. _

_We are to believe that the Ministry have issued an arrest warrant for Mr Harry James Potter to be brought in for questioning..._'

Harry felt his head spin at the last few lines. An arrest warrant? He was wanted by the Ministry now? He looked up to see Remus and Lily looking worriedly at him.

"They're going to have to find him first!" James said, reading the last line before folding the paper and throwing it aside.

"Prongs, can't you see what's happened?" Sirius asked. "It's over for Harry. He can't go back to Hogwarts, he can't step foot out of this house if he doesn't want to be arrested. He's become a prisoner! Just like me!" he kicked at the nearby chair, making it skid across the floor.

"No, he's not." Lily said. "That's not going to happen. We're not going to let that happen." She said. "We'll tell the Ministry exactly what happened, we'll explain everything about the dimension swap..."

"You can't do anything, Lily," Remus interrupted as Sirius was too angry to speak. "The Ministry are never going to believe you're from another dimension. Even with all the identity spells and Vertiserum in the world. They'll never listen to you or any of us." He looked wearily at Harry before dropping his gaze to the ground. "Despite how they're making it sound, they don't want Harry for questioning. They want him to arrest and put into Azkaban, so they can save themselves. They're in trouble for denying Voldemort's return. Now, they need to be seen to doing something and if people have seen _a_ Harry Potter working alongside Voldemort, the Ministry will arrest and imprison _a_ Harry Potter, even if it's the innocent one."

James looked over at Harry to see him standing quietly, watching the discussion happen around him.

"Hey," he called to him, making wide green eyes focus on him. James stood up to look Harry in the eyes. "It's going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won't allow it." James said.

Harry nodded, still feeling numbed disbelief at how quickly everything had fallen apart.

"Everything is going to be okay," James continued. "Harry will stay here at the headquarters until all this mess gets sorted out."

"And how will that happen?" Damien asked quietly.

James looked at him and struggled to find the right words.

"Honestly, I don't know yet. But I'll figure it out." He managed. "I promise, I'll figure something out."

Damien didn't say anything in return but turned away from his dad and sat down, running a hand through his hair. Harry sat down too, his mind still processing the fact that he was now a wanted wizard, he would not be able to go back to Hogwarts, he was imprisoned in the headquarters, just like Sirius was.

"Harry?"

His mum's voice made him look up.

"Could you please go upstairs and get Ginny for me? She should be up by now." Lily said.

Harry nodded and rose to his feet. He hadn't seen Ginny since last night when she had run out of the room, silent tears falling from her eyes. He hoped she was feeling better today. He opened the door and stepped out before he heard a whooshing sound and a loud thump come from the next room. He quickly walked towards the living room and had just opened the door to come face to face with a very worried looking Hermione Granger.

"Harry!" Hermione quickly embraced him. "I'm so sorry, Harry!" she mumbled into his shoulder. She pulled away so Harry could see her properly. He looked behind her into the room and saw his red haired best friend climbing out from the green flames in the fireplace. The next moment, Professor McGonagall appeared and gracefully stepped out from the green flames.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, truly surprised to see them, still fully clothed in Hogwarts school robes.

"We just heard mate," Ron said, worry laced in his voice as he walked towards him. "Read the report in the Prophet at breakfast..." he shook his head, "couldn't bloody believe it!"

Harry looked round at Hermione to see a copy of the newspaper clutched in her hand. He understood their concern now.

"We asked Professor Dumbledore if he could allow us the use of the Floo, so we could come to see you." Hermione explained in a shaky voice. "We had to make sure you were okay." She added quietly.

Harry nodded,

"I'm okay," he stated. "For now."

Hermione looked close to tears and Ron purposefully looked away from Harry.

Professor McGonagall made her way past the trio and headed towards the kitchen. She stopped next to Harry and gave him a concerned look. Awkwardly her hand rested on his shoulder. She patted it quickly and nodded at him.

"It will work out, Potter." She said before hurrying past him and into the kitchen.

"How did this happen?" Ron asked as soon as their Head of House had left. "I mean, about... about Harry joining...You-Know-Who?"

Harry didn't know what to tell them as they themselves hadn't quite figured out how Voldemort had managed to get to Harry.

"It's...complicated." Harry started looking back at Ron. "But it seems Voldemort has put Harry under a memory spell."

Hermione's eyes widened dramatically.

"A memory spell?" she repeated. "Exactly what kind of memory spell?" she asked, sounding unnerved.

"I don't know." Harry answered. "I wasn't aware there were many types."

Hermione looked nervous and afraid.

"Is it...permanent?"

Harry shook his head.

"It's reversible." He explained.

Hermione sighed with relief.

"He told us," she explained, "Harry told us everything about his past, about growing up with...with him." She shuddered involuntarily. "If Harry's gone back to thinking he's still loyal to Voldemort then..." she looked up to meet Harry's gaze. "It's going to get really bad."

Harry dropped his head, his fists clenched tightly into balls.

"It's already bad, Hermione." He said. "Yesterday, Harry attacked both dad and Damien. He nearly killed them both."

Ron swore and Hermione looked like she would be physically sick.

"Oh Harry!" she muttered sadly and Harry had no idea which one she was referring to.

"What's going on with you?" Ron asked. "The Ministry have a warrant out for your name." He said worriedly.

"I know," Harry sighed, feeling a headache blooming behind his eyes. "I know, I just...I haven't figured out what I should do yet."

"They can't blame you for this!" Hermione shrieked. "They have no evidence that you were participating in any sort of raid! They can't do anything to you, they won't!" she assured him.

Just then the door opened and Professor McGonagall appeared alongside Lily and Remus.

"Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, it is almost time for your first class. We have to leave."

Hermione nodded obediently but turned back to Harry, grabbing his hands in hers.

"Don't worry Harry, you're going to be fine." She told him. "I'm going to go back and find all I can on memory charms, I'm sure there must be a way to reverse the spell on Harry. Everything will work out just fine." She attempted a smile but Harry could clearly see the worry on her. He smiled back at her, as sincere as he could.

Ron gave him more assurances before McGonagall marched them back to the fireplace so they could floo back to Hogwarts. Harry watched them leave with a heavy heart. He had no idea if he would ever be able to go back to Hogwarts.

"I'll go get Ginny." He muttered and left the room.

xxx

Half an hour later, Harry walked back into the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face.

"There you are, I thought you got lost!" Lily remarked. Then seeing the look on her son's face she quickly asked, "What's wrong."

"I can't find her." Harry said. "I've looked everywhere, I can't find Ginny."

"She must be here," Remus said gently. "Where else would she go?"

Harry shook his head.

"I've checked her room, the third floor, the fourth and the fifth. I've just checked the drawing room, the bathroom and the living room. She's not here."

Damien and Lily got to their feet, intending on looking for Ginny for themselves.

"She was really upset yesterday," Lily explained as she walked past Harry, "she probably wants to be alone right now. She'll be hiding in one of the rooms."

An hour later, James, Sirius and Remus had joined in the search for Ginny but there was no sign of the girl.

"This is absurd!" Lily exclaimed. "She couldn't have disappeared!"

"Ginny did know not to leave the headquarters, right?" Sirius asked from the other side of the corridor as he checked room after room.

"Of course!" Lily snapped, throwing open yet another door and finding the room empty.

"Did anyone see her last night after she ran out?" Remus asked.

The others glanced amongst themselves, shaking their heads.

"Oh God, she's missing since last night?!" Lily cried, looking horror stricken.

"We have to get a search party together." Remus said. "I'll contact Dumbledore."

Damien shared a troubled glance with Harry. Damien had known Ginny almost all his life and was good friends with her. He didn't want to think that something bad had happened to her.

Mirroring everyone's thoughts, Sirius asked aloud,

"What could have happened to her?"

xxx

Harry tapped his fingers on Voldemort's polished grand oak table, listening to the detailed pre brief taking place. His eyes flickered from one person to the next, firstly landing on Lucius who was busy proposing his way of carrying out the next attack, and then to Bella who seemed uninterested in what Lucius had to say. The few others that were present, Macnair, Avery and Nott, were listening patiently to Lucius. Harry's gaze rested on the dark haired wizard sitting at the head of the table, the man's red eyes fixed on the parchment Lucius was busy explaining.

Finally Voldemort lowered the parchment and nodded once.

"Make the arrangements." he ordered.

Lucius, looking pleased with himself, started gathering the paperwork. He stopped when Harry rose from his seat and strode towards him. Silently Harry extended a hand, wanting to see the plan for himself. Lucius handed him the parchments, hiding his annoyance perfectly behind his usual mask.

Harry scanned the parchment, oblivious to the stare of the Dark Lord and his followers. After a moment or two he shuffled the parchments and threw them lightly onto the table.

"It won't work." He commented, leaning against the table and squaring his gaze on Lucius.

The blond Death Eater raised an elegant eyebrow at the statement.

"It won't?" he asked questioningly. Lucius glanced over to his master before turning back to speak to the boy. "With all due respect, Dark Prince, I will have to ask why?"

Harry smiled and pointed at the parchment.

"Your investigation is complete and concise. Your plan has credit, but like always, you have failed to construct a contingency plan."

"That's because he's stupid." Bella helpfully added.

Harry smirked in her direction. Lucius turned his head towards Bella but didn't say anything. He breathed deeply in an attempt to repress his growing irritation. He glanced again at Voldemort but he gave no indications as to whether or not Lucius should argue with Harry.

"What would you suggest?" Lucius asked, forcing the words past his lips.

Harry spread the loose parchment sheets across the table and started mapping out a new plan.

"We go in as you planned," Harry started, pointing to the first sheet. "But we go in with less men, maybe only a third of our numbers, perhaps less."

"What?" Avery gasped.

Macnair and Nott looked equally shocked. Even Bella took an interest and sat up straighter in her seat.

"We can't go in with only a third of our men!" Macnair said. "My Lord, we need as many men as possible." He urged, turning to Voldemort. "We're talking about breaking into the Ministry of Magic...!"

"Exactly," Harry interrupted again. "The Ministry of Magic, which holds every Auror in the whole of Britain."

The Death Eaters quietened down and stared at Harry. Voldemort was intrigued at how Harry was planning the attack.

"Which is why we should attack with full force." Macnair continued.

Harry turned to Voldemort with a playful smirk.

"I always said you needed to carry out IQ tests before recruiting." He said.

Voldemort's lips curled into a smirk and his red eyes flashed with amusement. Harry turned to face Macnair.

"Listen close to what I'm about to say and try to keep up," he ridiculed. "The Ministry has surveillance orbs in every part of its building. Every department is monitored except for the one we're planning on visiting." Harry pointed back at the papers. "If we go in with more than half our numbers we're not leaving behind much of a back up."

"If everything is executed properly there will be no need for a backup." Lucius said stiffly.

Harry smiled and looked around at him.

"We're not breaking into a pub, it's the Ministry of Magic and no matter how we do it, the chances of getting caught are high. No matter how stealthy we are or how quick we try to execute our plan, we have a good chance of being ambushed." He took a deep breath and pointed at the next sheet of parchment. "If we change the numbers and take less with us it works out better; one, we have a smaller group to smuggle inside the building and two, it leaves a greater number behind us as a backup, should we need it. If we get inside and to our goal without being caught, great. But if we run into trouble, which if we're honest, we most likely will do, we can send the signal and get cover." He looked over at the Death Eaters, glad to see them looking surprised. He continued, "Our route into the Ministry will likely be caught on one of these security orbs," he pointed at the relevant pages. "If the Aurors see that there is only a small group of us, they will only send an appropriate number of Aurors to fight us. They won't send an army to capture a small group. That's when we call for our men and we can easily outnumber the Aurors. Before the Aurors can send reinforcements it'll all be over. All I need is a few moments of confusion and chaos to get my job done." Harry said with his usual confidence.

"I don't think this is necessary. We will have to gather every Death Eater if we are to arrange this back up." Lucius objected. "We can easily complete this mission with the numbers I have suggested. The time of the attack means there will only be a limited number of Aurors in the Ministry." Lucius said. "According to the information Johnson gave." He added.

"And if we are to believe what Johnson told us, then there will still be a substantial number of Aurors to face, even at night time." Harry answered.

"I think Johnson was lying, trying to scare us." Avery said. "There is no way there are that many Aurors at the Ministry at night!"

Harry turned to him.

"We have to take into consideration everything he said. I mean, that is why we went through the trouble of raiding Diagon Alley and kidnapping an Unspeakable that worked at the Ministry, right?" he asked in a mocking tone. "If we're not going to believe him then what was the point?"

"Johnson wasn't just any Unspeakable," Bella said. "He was the Unspeakable that agreed to make an addition to his department. He took the orb from Dumbledore and agreed to hide it in the Department of Mysteries." She tut-tut to herself, shaking her head. "He really shouldn't have done that." She said in her playful sing-song voice. "If he hadn't maybe he would still be alive today."

Harry's face coloured slightly at the mention of the orb.

"We have one chance to get that orb and that's why we can't mess this up. I'm getting that orb no matter what!" Harry said his mood suddenly serious.

His eyes locked with Voldemort and for a moment they stayed that way. Voldemort could see the determination in the boy and it made him grin mentally.

Everyone was waiting for the Dark Lord's decision. Slowly, Voldemort leaned forward in his seat and shared a long look with Harry. Finally he spoke, giving his instructions.

"Do as he says." He commanded his Death Eaters.

Harry smiled and with a smug look turned to Macnair, Avery and Nott.

"Bring me the names of every Death Eater from all ranks. We need everyone, understand?" he commanded Avery.

"Macnair, we need our contacts at the Ministry. Have them arrange portkeys for the backup. If we need them, they need to come fast."

"They won't be able to provide..." Macnair started.

"Make it happen." Harry interrupted.

Macnair closed his mouth and nodded tightly at him.

"Emergency portkeys can be issued with the condition that the paperwork is filed within twenty four hours." Harry grit out annoyed. "There I gave you a hint." He mocked. "Now are you competent enough to handle this?" he asked.

Macnair's jaw was clenched tight but he still managed a quiet, "Yes, Dark Prince."

The men left to comply with their young master's order.

Harry turned to Lucius next,

"How many of our hideouts are still safe?" he asked.

"A few," Lucius answered. "Most of our old hideouts were raided after you were taken. But we still have a handful of undisclosed locations."

"Bring me details on all our hideouts," Harry said. "We need a secure location for our backup when in waiting. It has to be big enough to hold them."

Lucius bowed in front of Voldemort and turned towards the door to leave. Harry turned to Voldemort and smiled again.

"Everything will be ready for tonight, father." He promised.

Voldemort nodded in acknowledgement. Harry turned and left the chamber, leaving only Bella with Voldemort. As soon as Harry left, Voldemort wandlessly closed the door and locked it. Walls of 'sliencio' were put up before the Dark Lord turned to face his only female Death Eater. The woman rose to her feet and grinned at her master.

"You were right, Master," she whispered in her usual way. "He's determined and smart. It's almost a shame he will have to die. He could have been useful." She mused.

Voldemort smiled and stood up, gathering up the parchments on his table with a flicker of his hand.

"He's been trained well." He said, "His methods are unusual no doubt but he's never failed an assignment, as I've seen from the memories." He sighed as he snapped his fingers and the floating parchment caught fire and began to burn. "It really will be a shame when I kill him, what a waste."

Bella watched the small black ball of parchment burning in front of her.

"He's working so hard to bring you that orb," Bella said. "And he has no idea what it is." She giggled.

Voldemort smirked, deeply pleased at his plan and how well it worked.

"I knew he would go after the orb if he thinks it will bring him answers." Voldemort said. "I told him that the small crystal orb sitting in the Department of Mysteries with his and my name on it, is collected memories of his last two years captivity at the hands of the Order. He thinks that's why my name is included on the label, since the Order was questioning him about me. Harry thinks that orb has memories, _his_ memories, that had been taken from him by Dumbledore. Harry thinks that if he gets the orb, he will get back his memories, he'll learn what information it was he gave to Dumbledore while being tortured. He thinks that is why I want him to get me the orb. He has no idea that the orb is actually the prophecy. Harry is going to bring me the weapon I need to finish him and his counterpart."

He turned to look at Bella as she gazed at him with admiration.

Voldemort let out a deep breath and smiled. "After I get rid of the 'prophesised ones', nothing will stand in my way. I can finally start building the world as my own."

xxx

Hermione slammed another book closed and pushed it aside. That was the tenth volume so far that had proved useless. She pulled another heavy book towards her and opened it, scanning the contents page for anything to do with 'Memory Charms'.

She looked up from her book when she sensed the prying eyes of the librarian, Madame Pince, on her. The librarian scowled at the stack of books, her books, scattered across the table.

"Those have to be put back exactly in order!" she snapped.

"Yes, Madame Pince." Hermione said tiredly. She had already been told this five times already.

Hermione ignored the librarian and concentrated on reading the small paragraph in the book. After a few minutes, the woman hustled away, muttering about 'children' that came and 'messed up' all 'her books'.

The doors opened and Ron hurried inside, heading straight for Hermione. It wasn't all that difficult to find her as she was the only student in the library. Everyone else was in the Great Hall enjoying their lunch. Ron walked over to Hermione, eyeing the twenty books scattered around her with disdain.

"Hermione," he started.

"Not now, Ron," Hermione stopped him, but didn't look at him. "I might be on to something."

Ron leaned on the table, bringing his face closer to her.

"Hermione, this has to stop." He urged. "You've been here all day; you've missed all your classes."

"I'm unwell, remember? I've been excused from classes." Hermione replied, taking notes from the book before her.

"Pretending to be ill and missing classes, that isn't like you!" Ron whispered. "You've been here all day. At least come downstairs and have some lunch."

Hermione looked up at Ron with an open mouth.

"How can you possibly be thinking about food?!" she asked angrily. "Our best friend is in trouble and another version of our best friend is with _Voldemort_ and at any time anything could happen to _both_ of them and all you can think about is _food_!"

Ron looked awkwardly at her.

"You know that I'm worried too, Hermione. I don't want Harry to get into any trouble either..."

"Then you can help me." Hermione hissed, jabbing a finger at the book in front of her.

"Professor Dumbledore knows about what happened to Harry. If there is anything that can be done, I'm pretty sure he will do it. Do you really think you will find an easier way to bring Harry's memories back in that lot?" he asked, pointing to the stack of books.

"Honestly, I don't know." Hermione admitted tiredly. "But I can't sit back and not do anything! This is Harry we're talking about. I'm not going to leave him when he's in need of help. I'll do anything I can."

She lowered her head to the books in front of her again and ignored Ron. After a moment, Ron sighed loudly and turned to leave. The door slammed shut behind him and Hermione heard Madame Pince exhaling loudly to show her irritation. Hermione ignored her and continued to look through the volume.

Ten minutes passed in silence and Hermione became lost in her reading. Another ten minutes later she pushed away the last of the volumes and let out a frustrated huff. Nothing, there was absolutely nothing she could find that would help. It seemed the only way to remove a memory charm was to take the time to reverse it from the mind and extract it. The removal of a memory charm was complicated and extremely dangerous to perform which is why memory charms were categorised as dark magic.

Hermione rubbed at her eyes and let out another sigh. What were they going to do? How were they ever going to get Harry and his memories back?

Hermione pulled her hands away from her face and started collecting her notes. She pushed them roughly into her bag, they were after all pointless. Just as she swung her bag around her shoulder she noticed how eerily quiet it was in the library. Of course, it was expected, there was no other student in the library at the moment but she had been listening to Madame Pince as she crept around the library, putting books back and organising varies shelves. But now, Hermione couldn't hear her at all; no footsteps, no scraping of books against wooden shelves, no irate sighs, nothing.

Hermione moved towards the librarian's desk which was just around the corner to where she had been sitting.

"Madame Pince, I'm all done now." She called out.

There was no answer.

"Madame Pince?"

She tried again but there was still no answer.

Hermione rounded the corner and saw no one at the desk. Curious and a little concerned, Hermione walked around the desk to peek behind it. She gasped in shock when she saw the librarian sprawled out on the ground, completely unconscious.

"Madame Pince?! Madame Pince? Are you alright?" Hermione called out, dropping her bag to the ground and hurrying around the desk to reach her.

She felt for a pulse and was thankful to find it, regular and strong, beating under her fingertips. Hermione tried to wake up the unconscious witch but had no success. She hurried to her feet intending on going to find help. As soon as she stood up she saw him standing at the door, his tall frame blocking it.

Harry leaned against the door, his stance casual and relaxed. Hermione looked back down at Madame Pince, realising with sickened dread that Harry was the one who had stunned the librarian.

"She's just unconscious." Harry assured her. "Relax, she's still alive."

Harry moved away from the door and started walking towards Hermione.

"Can't promise the same for you, Hermione Granger." he rolled the name off his tongue, almost playfully.

Hermione backed away, her eyes fixed on him.

"Harry," she started quietly, "I know that right now you think I'm your enemy but I'm not." She tried.

"You're not?" Harry asked smirking.

Hermione shook her head.

"No, I'm your friend." She said, still inching backwards, away from him.

Harry eyed her from head to toe and then sneered at her.

"A mudblood? I don't think so."

Hermione closed her eyes and forced the stinging tears back. 'Harry isn't in his right mind, he didn't mean it' she told herself. She opened her eyes and met Harry's cruel gaze.

"I know you remember me," she started, almost against the wall now. "I know somewhere deep inside your mind, you can remember me. You're under a memory charm right now, that's why you're acting like this but I know you. You're strong; you can break out of this! The Harry that is my friend is still in there somewhere and he won't let you hurt me!"

Harry suddenly lunged at Hermione, making her cry out in fear and fall back only to be backed up against the wall. Harry slammed both hands on either side of her head, effectively trapping her against the wall. His face was only a mere inch away from hers as he spoke,

"You want to guess again?" he asked icily.

Hermione whimpered, fear surging through her.

"Harry, please!" she whispered. "What do you want?"

"Other than ripping your throat out?" Harry asked.

Hermione closed her eyes again and tried with all her might to stay calm.

"Why do you want to hurt me? What have I done?" she asked.

Harry looked closely at her.

"You haven't done anything other than _exist_." He hissed the last word, making Hermione shiver. "You're not supposed to be here, mudblood. By killing you I would only be correcting the natural order of things."

Hermione felt hot anger boil up inside her. It was strange to feel such rage and yet still be petrified at the same time.

Harry smirked at her as her anger must have shown on her face.

"Lucky for you, I need something and if you give it to me, I may just spare your life." He locked his gaze with her and asked in a cold tone. "Where is Dumbledore?"

"I don't know." Hermione answered truthfully.

Harry shook his head.

"That's a pity. You could have saved yourself."

"Harry, please, I swear I don't know where he is, no one does!" she tried desperately.

Harry moved back from Hermione but he still had his hands on either side of her.

"You're willing to die for him?" he asked with clear disgust. "Such sacrifice but it's all for nothing." Harry said. "By tonight, it will all be over. Dumbledore will lose. Tonight I will regain what he took from me. All his efforts were in vain." He smirked.

"Harry, please." She tried once more but Harry simply ignored her. He moved back, dropping his arms away from the wall.

Hermione's eyes darted to all corners of the library, trying to figure a way out, a way to escape.

"I want you to know, that I'm only doing this because of Dumbledore." Harry said, moving a few paces backwards. "This is his doing, not mine."

Hermione saw her window of opportunity and attempted to keep Harry talking, if only to buy herself more time.

"Really?" she asked. "And how is that?"

"He should have killed me when he got his hands on me." Harry stated simply.

Hermione moved, just an inch away from the wall. Her hand inched towards her back pocket where her wand was kept.

"Maybe killing you was never what Dumbledore wanted." Hermione answered.

Harry shook his head.

"Killing me was too merciful for him." Harry stated with quiet fury.

Hermione found her attention shift to the anger and pain in Harry's voice, distracting her from her original plan of trying to escape.

"What did he tell you?" she asked bravely. "What did Voldemort say Dumbledore did to you?"

Harry glared at her.

"Don't say his name." He warned.

"Because whatever it was, it's a lie." Hermione continued.

"Do you _want_ to die painfully?" Harry growled.

"He's always lied to you, Harry! You were the one who told me that." Hermione tried desperate for her words to reach him, to somehow break through the barriers the memory charm had set up and get to the real Harry.

"I told you that?" Harry asked derisively.

"Yes!" Hermione cried. "You told me! You said you were deceived by him. You said..."

Harry's hand shot out and he hissed an incantation making the shelf next to Hermione collapse, sending hundreds of books crashing to the ground, less than a foot away from where she was standing. Hermione stumbled back on instinct.

"Consider that the one and only warning." Harry hissed at her.

"Warning for what?" Hermione breathed, trying to calm her racing heart. "For telling you the truth?" she was still slowly reaching for her wand.

"Don't," Harry warned. "Do you really think you'll get to your wand before I get to you?" he asked.

Hermione stopped and dropped her hand to her side. She knew he was right. She wasn't fast enough. From the corner of her eye she caught sight of the door opening again. Part of her wanted to scream at the newcomer, to warn them not to come inside and risk their life. The other part of her was relieved that she was no longer alone.

"Don't do this, Harry, please." She said, an effort to keep his attention on her.

"Don't take this personally," Harry said. "It's all about tactics." He said as he pulled out his wand.

Hermione saw Ron creep inside, behind Harry. She wanted to warn him, to tell him to leave and save himself, but she couldn't. She couldn't do anything. She watched as Harry twirled his wand between his fingers, toying with it.

Ron extended his wand behind Harry, preparing to strike. Suddenly Harry swirled around and shot a curse at Ron. Hermione took the opportunity of having Harry's back turned to her and whipped out her wand. Ron was hit with Harry's curse and he flew backwards, hitting the wall with a loud smack. He fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

Harry turned around to find Hermione shakily pointing her wand at him. He smiled at the sight.

"You have to be kidding me." He snickered.

"You're my friend Harry," Hermione said. "I don't want to hurt you but I will if you don't drop your wand."

Harry tilted his head to the side and studied her.

"You mean you can't hurt me." He said.

"I can and I will." Hermione promised.

Harry's lips curled into an almost smile. Behind Harry, Ron clambered to his feet, a hand cupping the back of his head but with his other hand he was pointing his wand at Harry.

"Drop it, Harry." He called out, taking a step towards him.

"No, I don't think I will." Harry answered before his free hand curled into a fist momentarily before opening to reveal a fireball.

"Ron!" Hermione shouted in warning as Harry threw the ball of fire towards him.

Ron moved out of the way before retaliating with a 'Stupefy'.

Harry blocked the attack before he waved his hand, catching Ron with his silent, wandless spell. Ron hit the ground again with a groan.

Harry turned to find Hermione gone. His eyes scanned the library to find her but she had seemingly disappeared. Harry turned and headed towards the fallen red haired boy instead. Before Harry got near Ron, he heard a whispered incantation. He turned in time to see the shelf to his right collapsing, sending heavy books in his direction. He braced himself before the crashing books rained down on him, knocking him to the ground.

Hermione took her chance and climbed out from behind the now broken bookshelf and bolted towards Ron.

"Ron! Get up, Get up! Ron!" she helped the dazed boy to his feet and both ran to the door, opening it and running into the corridor.

They ran straight to Professor McGonagall and told her what happened but by the time she along with other members of the staff reached the library, they found only the heaps of books on the floor and the still unconscious librarian.

Harry had gone.

xxx

Damien ran his fingers over the smooth black stone, wishing it could calm him and take away his distress, like it used to. He looked at the Layhoo Jisteen, still around his neck and watched transfixed to the green mist as it swirled around within the black stone.

He rubbed at his eyes, he was tired but found he couldn't rest. They had still to find Ginny. The girl had simply vanished. Dumbledore had given out instructions to the Order to search for her but as of yet they had no success.

Damien tucked the pendant, his first gift from his brother, back under his robes and stood up. He was going to go insane if he remained sitting any longer. He walked out of his room and headed downstairs.

Just as he was making his way downstairs he saw the front door open and four figures hurried inside. Damien stopped mid step as he saw Ron and Hermione walk in with Professor McGonagall on one side and Moody on the other.

"Ron? Hermione?" Damien called out, surprised to see them.

The two Gryffindors looked up to meet Damien's gaze and he could tell straight away something had happened.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Damien asked, hurrying down the steps.

Ron and Hermione opened their mouth to answer but the two adults next to them stopped them, urging them to move along the hallway and into the kitchen. Damien followed behind them.

They walked into the kitchen to find Harry James and Sirius gathered around the table. Harry rose from his seat at the sight of his friends. He took in their solemn expressions and knew instantly something very bad had happened. He took a step towards them before Hermione suddenly broke down in tears and fled to him, engulfing him in a hug. She sobbed in Harry's arms, clinging onto him.

Harry held her protectively. He looked at Ron, wordlessly asking what had happened. Ron walked over and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, trying to calm down the distressed girl.

Behind the trio, James and Sirius had also risen to their feet.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, directing his question to Moody and McGonagall.

"You better sit down, all of you." McGonagall said gravely.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review!! Cheers!!


	40. Faith

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all your reviews. Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Forty**

Hermione finally pulled away from Harry and wiped at her face, drying her tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She muttered wiping at her cheeks and sniffing back more tears.

Harry and Ron led her to a chair and sat her down before taking a seat on either side of her. Damien joined the table, never taking his eyes away from Hermione's tear stained face. He wanted to go over and hug her but he was aware of the fact that in this world he was a stranger to her. He still couldn't help asking her if she was okay though. Hermione nodded, trying hard to keep herself together.

"What happened?" James asked worriedly.

McGonagall didn't waste any time in explaining the attack on Hermione. Harry held onto Hermione's hand as McGonagall retold the events that took place today; Harry appearing in Hogwarts library and threatening to kill Hermione. At hearing what his counterpart had tried to do to his best friend, Harry's hold on Hermione's hand gradually tightened until he had to pull away, afraid he would end up hurting her.

Hermione stayed quiet and focused on not breaking down again.

Damien was ashen faced by the end and could hardly look at Hermione or Ron without feeling immense guilt on behalf of his brother.

"I can't believe this!" Sirius said, shaking his head. "I don't understand! Why would he attack you?" he said to Hermione.

"It's obvious!" Moody answered. "Whatever he's doing, he's doing on Voldemort's orders."

Harry got up suddenly and walked away from the table, unable to stay seated.

"But why would Voldemort want to hurt Hermione? Why is he targeting her?" Damien asked.

"He's not." Hermione said quietly. Everyone turned to look at her. "Harry didn't come for me. He came for Professor Dumbledore." Taking a moment to steady herself, Hermione continued. "He wanted to know where he was. When I said I didn't know, he threatened to kill me."

Damien had his head in his hands at this point. Harry had tried to kill Hermione! The thought alone was enough to drive him insane. He thanked God, Hermione had managed to escape. His eyes flickered to Ron at the thought, if he hadn't walked in at the right moment...

"Voldemort would send Potter after Dumbledore, it makes sense." Moody said.

"Voldemort would send him after my friends." Harry spoke, his back to the table. He turned around to look at Moody. "It wasn't a coincident that Harry found Hermione. He was told to target her, to hurt me."

No one contradicted him. Hermione looked at Harry but found she couldn't argue. He was most likely right. She held up a hand to her head and closed her eyes despairingly. She felt a hand gently take her free hand and she looked up into Ron's concerned eyes. She offered a small, tired smile.

"I'm fine." She whispered to him.

"We have to set up safety parameters." Moody was saying to the rest. "Matters are complicated because Potter can manipulate wards..."

"I forgot about that!" Sirius said. "Damn it!" he cursed.

"It seems so has Potter." McGonagall supplied. "He entered the school through a secret passageway. It was found still open. There's a passageway leading to the school through a joke shop in Hogsmeade."

Harry shared a look with Ron and Hermione. He knew about that secret passageway, that one and all the others leading to the castle. James and Sirius shared a look too, as they were the ones to discover that passageway and detail it on their map.

"It's been sealed now," McGonagall assured. "I'm just thankful no one else had come with Harry. He could have very well led Death Eaters into the school!"

Damien felt the hairs on the back on his neck stand. Back in his world, Harry had once caused a group of Death Eaters to come onto the school grounds. He was hoping against hope that it didn't happen in this world.

"It's strange though," Ron spoke at last. "That Harry was alone. Wouldn't Voldemort want to take over the school?"

"Not yet," Harry answered thoughtfully. He walked over to the table. "He's up to something. Voldemort's not gone through all this trouble and performed a memory charm on Harry for nothing. He's planning something and whatever it is, it's bigger than Hogwarts. That's why he's not attacked it yet."

Everyone was staring at Harry. They knew he was right, of course. Voldemort was intelligent and cunning. He was capable of anything and that's mostly the reason why he was feared.

At Harry's words, Hermione suddenly remembered something, something Harry had said to her in the library today. She sat a little straighter and cleared her throat.

"I...I remember something Harry said today." She licked her lips nervously as the memory of her friend's cold, cruel, hate filled stare came back to her. "When he thought I was protecting Professor Dumbledore he told me that it was all pointless. He said that by tonight everything would be over and that whatever Professor Dumbledore had done had been in vain."

Hermione now held everyone's interest.

"What else did he say?" Moody asked.

Hermione tried to think, pushing her exhausted mind to remember.

"He thinks Professor Dumbledore did something to him. He was angry and said that Dumbledore should have just killed him instead." Hermione looked up at the rest. "He said that tonight, he was going to regain what was took from him, something he thinks Professor Dumbledore took from him." She turned her head to look at James. "Something big is happening tonight." She added.

"This can't be good for us." Ron muttered.

"It's not good for anyone." Harry said, collapsing tiredly next to Hermione again.

"Regain what was taken?" Damien repeated quietly. "What could that be?"

James was sitting quietly with both hands clasped, looking worried.

"We need to find out if we're going to stop him!" Moody said.

"Hermione, did Harry say anything else?" Damien asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"No, not really." She replied.

"So, Harry thinks Professor Dumbledore has taken something of his." Harry said, trying to fit all the facts together. "Something he wants back. He said to you that by tonight he would get it back and Dumbledore's efforts were in vain?" he confirmed with Hermione. She nodded at him. Harry looked at his dad. "We know for certain that Harry is under a memory charm since he can't remember Damien," he nodded at the boy, "so that pretty much confirms that the memory charm has erased the last two years or so from Harry's mind."

"Not erased," James said quietly. "Just veiled."

Harry nodded.

"Right, but if Harry doesn't remember what happened to him, why does he think Professor Dumbledore took something from him?" Harry asked.

"It was probably Voldemort, he's filled his head with lies again. Harry would believe whatever he tells him." Damien said bitterly.

"So, Voldemort has lied to Harry and told him to take back something from Professor Dumbledore, claiming it belonged to Harry in the first place." Harry said piecing it together. "What is it Voldemort would want from Professor Dumbledore?"

A few moments of silence fell onto them as each person tried to work out what the Dark Lord was after.

"The weapon." Ron said suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked looking confusedly at his friend.

Ron shared a look with Hermione before facing Sirius.

"Do you remember the first night Harry came here? You told us that the Order suspected Voldemort to be looking for something, something he didn't have the last time he was in power? A weapon of some sorts."

Harry and Damien both turned to stare at Sirius.

"What is it?" Harry asked quickly. "This weapon that Voldemort is after, what is it?"

Sirius, McGonagall and Moody looked amongst them and then with a sigh, Sirius started to explain.

"We don't know for certain but, some of us think Voldemort is after the...the prophecy." He said the last word with a notable wince. He turned to look at James. "We think Voldemort is after the prophecy." He repeated to his friend.

"Why? Doesn't he already know it?" Harry asked. "Wasn't the prophecy the reason he attacked me and killed my parents?"

"You know about the prophecy?" McGonagall asked, astonished.

"I know _of_ the prophecy, I just don't know _the_ prophecy." Harry answered. "Although I can pretty much guess what it must be." He added unhappily.

Ron and Hermione caught the look on their friend and guessed that this prophecy was what linked Harry to Voldemort. They didn't look very happy either.

"Why is Voldemort after the prophecy?" Harry repeated his question.

Wearily, McGonagall took over.

"Dumbledore believes that Voldemort doesn't know the prophecy in full. He believes that Voldemort only got to know the beginning of the prophecy and is now trying to learn the entirety of it."

"Where is it?" James asked quietly, a notable hiss of anger in his voice. "Where is it being kept?"

"That's classified." Moody answered.

"Oh for goodness sake!" McGonagall said, casting an annoyed look at Moody. "The prophecy is at the Ministry of Magic." She answered looking at James.

James shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I swear, I'm so fed up with this damn prophecy!" he spat.

"But wait a minute, I'm confused," Damien said, "Harry said to Hermione that Dumbledore took something from him and he wants it back. Why would Harry say that if he's talking about the prophecy? The prophecy never belonged to Harry or to Voldemort. And wouldn't Harry ask Voldemort why they're going after the prophecy?"

"He would and that's probably why he's under the impression that they're going after something else." Harry answered.

"Like what?" Damien asked.

"Anything," McGonagall answered. "It's a small glass orb, Mr Potter. Voldemort could pretend that it holds anything."

"Whatever he's told him, it's really affected Harry." Hermione said. "He looked so angry when he spoke about it."

"It doesn't matter what he's told him," James said with difficulty, "I'd rather not imagine what foul lies he's told him this time. What matters is that we know where the prophecy is and so we know where Harry is going to be tonight."

"We already have it under 24 hour watch." Moody supplied. "When Potter comes for it, we'll be prepared."

"Then what?" Damien asked. "What happens once we catch Harry?"

James shifted in his seat, looking deeply uncomfortable.

"We bring him back here," he answered, "and Dumbledore will...reverse the charm." James breathed the last words out with a hopeful breath, meeting Damien's gaze. Both of them knew it wasn't going to be as easy as that.

"And what will we do about the Ministry?" Damien asked, glancing once at Harry. "They'll still be after Harry, both of them."

"We'll worry about that later," James sighed, running a hand agitatedly through his hair. "Let's focus on the first step; getting Harry back."

"It won't be easy." Harry muttered mostly to himself.

"I wish we didn't have to capture him," Damien said eventually. "If only it were as easy as hitting him with a single hex. We would have a chance then." He said miserably.

"It's a long process," Hermione said quietly, catching everyone's attention. "Removing a memory charm is dangerous and can easily go wrong. It has to be done properly and it takes time to undo the effects of the charm." She gazed around at the surprised looking faces staring at her before adding in a near whisper, "I was studying them in the library."

"What I want to know is how did Voldemort get to Harry in the first place?" Moody said. "Harry was supposed to be at Hogwarts. How did he get from the school to wherever the hell Voldemort is hiding?"

His magical eye swivelled to the side and he caught Hermione sharing a look with Ron. He turned towards them. "You have something to say?" he asked.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at the guilty looking students.

"Miss Granger?" she enquired.

Hermione looked back at Ron and bit her lip, apparently hesitant to say anything.

"He used to leave," Ron said quietly, surprising everyone. "Harry sometimes would leave Hogwarts and stay away for a few hours. He could apparate so it wasn't a problem for him."

Hermione gave him a hurt look but didn't say anything.

"Did he ever tell you where he went?" Damien asked with a sinking feeling.

Ron shook his head.

"And neither of you thought of reporting this?" McGonagall asked sternly.

"It doesn't mean he went to see _him!_" Hermione said, desperate to make this point. "Harry would leave to clear his head, he told me once. He used to get worked up so he would leave for a while, just to have a walk..."

"Because Hogwarts doesn't have anywhere to _walk_?" Moody asked coldly.

Hermione struggled to find a response but finally gave up, opting to look away from the Auror.

"He must have been tricked." James offered. "Harry would never willingly go near Voldemort."

"Yeah well, according to the reports given by Snape..." Moody started.

"I don't care what Snape has to say!" James snapped. "His opinion is useless to me."

"Even when he claims to have confirmed reports of Harry meeting with Voldemort at least twice before joining him?" Moody asked.

"What proof does he have?" Sirius asked angrily.

"Whatever it is, apparently, it's indisputable." Moody continued. "Dumbledore told me this morning, it's confirmed that Harry went to see Voldemort on at least two separate occasions and he went there of his own accord." Moody added.

James and the rest were silent, not having anything they could say.

"Albus confirmed this to me also," McGonagall said, "I'm sorry James." She added casting her former student a sympathetic glance.

"He couldn't have," Damien shook his head. "He would have told me if he met Voldemort! He wouldn't keep it from me!"

James didn't say anything but dipped his head, closing his eyes tight and curling his hands into fists.

"It doesn't matter" he managed to say before opening his eyes and looking straight at Moody, "even if Harry did go to meet Voldemort, it doesn't matter. All we need to focus on right now is how to get Harry back."

Moody looked like he wanted to say something but then catching the look on James' face, he changed his mind.

"We know where to find him," he said. "When he goes to the Ministry tonight, we'll be ready for him."

James nodded at him. The door opened again and this time Lily walked inside followed by Remus. Everyone's attention shifted to them as they entered, looking disappointed. James looked hopefully at Lily but she shook her head as she unclasped the travelling cloak and pulled it away from her shoulders.

"No sign of her, I don't know what to do." She said sounding dejected and worried.

"Dumbledore has two search parties out looking for her." Remus explained. "He said he would keep us up to date with the progress."

"What am I supposed to say to Molly and Arthur?" Lily said sitting down next to James. "How can I possibly explain?"

"Is this about Ginny?" Ron asked at the mention of his parents.

Lily looked around at him, seemingly noticing him and Hermione for the first time.

"Ron? Hermione? What are you doing here?" she asked with surprise.

Hermione didn't answer and chose to look away as Moody and McGonagall repeated the events to a horrified Lily.

xxx

Harry took the offered file from the Death Eater and scanned over the pages.

"Is this all?" he asked.

"Yes, every Death Eater from all ranks." Avery answered.

Harry studied the parchment again, flicking through the pages. He finally turned to Avery.

"What happened to our numbers?" he enquired.

Avery paused before answering. He was told very little about this Harry but he knew this much that the boy belonged to another world. Obviously that world had far more Death Eaters.

"It is all we have." He answered in a tone that made Harry assume the rest had been either killed or caught in the two years he was away.

It worked as Harry let out a sigh and looked at the parchment again.

"Well, if this is all we have we'll just have to work with it." He answered.

Avery bowed deep before him and left, noting that Harry barely spared him or his respectful gesture a glance. Lucius passed him as he approached Harry and handed the dark haired teen another file.

"Here's what you asked for," Lucius said as Harry took the file from him. "Details of all our hideouts."

Harry scanned over the pages, flicking the pages over to find the most suitable venue.

"And these are safe?" Harry asked again.

"Perfectly," Lucius drawled. "All of them are at hidden locations. They are off the Ministry's radar, so to speak."

Harry closed the file and faced Lucius.

"I'll go through them and select the most suitable one," he said, "It has to be big enough to hold all of the Death Eaters." Scratching his forehead he added, "although we don't have nearly as many as I remember."

Lucius nodded at him.

"We lost a lot of men after you were taken." He said, graciously pinning the blame on Harry, once again.

Harry looked over at Lucius and the blond Death Eater saw the green eyes darken just a shade.

"It'll all be over soon Lucius," Harry said in a low voice. "Tonight it will end."

Lucius smiled mentally as he thought about the boy's fate after they brought back the prophecy tonight.

"It will indeed." He whispered to himself.

xxx

Ron paced the bedroom floor, hands furled into fists, brow creased and his mind flooded with worry for Ginny. He paused mid-step as his eyes fell on Hermione, sitting on one of the beds. She had brought up her knees to her chest and was sitting with her chin resting on her knees. Her expression was strangely vacant. Ron opened his mouth to speak but found he didn't know what to say. He resumed his pacing.

Sitting on the foot of Hermione's bed was Harry, watching Ron go up and down the room.

"Sit down, Ron. You're making me dizzy." He said.

Ron ignored him and continued.

"I can't believe she's missing," he mumbled as he paced. "My sister is missing!"

"Technically your sister is at Hogwarts, safe and sound." Damien corrected, from the other bed.

Ron stopped walking and glared at Damien. He didn't know the boy and wasn't feeling particularly friendly towards him right now.

"We'll find her," Harry spoke, making Ron's attention shift to him. "Ginny will be fine."

"How can you say that?" Ron asked. "You don't know where she is!"

"We'll find her," Harry urged. "You have to calm down, Ron."

"Calm down?!" Ron yelled, "Merlin Harry! My sister is missing, Hermione's just been attacked, I was almost killed and you are as of now a wanted wizard! Tell me why I should be calm about any of this!?"

"Yelling isn't going to make things better." Harry said to his friend. "And Ginny is probably out somewhere trying to come to terms with what happened in Diagon Alley. She was very upset." Harry explained.

"Why?" Ron asked. "Why was she so upset? And now that I think about it, why is she even here? Why did she travel across dimensions?"

Harry shifted on the bed and glanced at Damien who looked uncomfortably back at him. They couldn't answer Ron without disclosing the truth about Harry and Ginny's relationship.

"Ginny..." Harry started awkwardly, "she was seeing him, Harry I mean."

Ron looked blankly at him and Hermione seemed to suddenly awake to her surroundings.

"What?" she asked.

"Seeing him?" Ron asked, "What like? You mean she was his...his...?"

"Girlfriend, yeah." Harry finished for him, wanting the painful part over with quickly.

Ron stared at him for a moment.

"And mum was okay with this?" he asked, failing to understand how it was possible for his overprotective mother to be happy for her only daughter dating Voldemort's adopted son.

"Charlie had a little problem getting used to the idea," Damien answered, "but the rest were fine."

Ron turned to face Damien.

"What sort of bloody freaky world do you live in?!" he asked.

"Harry was dating Ginny." Hermione repeated to herself. "I thought...oh it doesn't matter now." She told herself. She thought back to all the encounters Harry had with this world's Ginny. Harry's reactions made sense now. She almost smiled at those memories.

"I can't believe how wrong things ended up." She muttered, bringing both hands to her head.

She felt Harry's warm hand on her arm. She looked up at him. His soft comforting smile did little to calm her but she dropped her hands away and smiled back at him anyway.

"I still don't understand," Hermione said louder, getting the other two boys attention as well, "it doesn't make any sense."

"What?" Damien asked.

"The attack," Hermione answered. "Harry coming to Hogwarts and attacking me."

"I thought you said he didn't come for you, he came for Professor Dumbledore?" Damien asked.

"That's just it," Hermione said. "I've been going over what happened again and again in my head and I don't get it." She pushed herself to sit straighter. "Harry asked me where Professor Dumbledore was but why did he think I would know?" she asked. "And he came straight to the Library, how did he know I was there? It was lunch time; as far as Harry knows there wasn't going to be any students at the library."

Ron and Damien looked thoughtful at Hermione's questions.

"He had to have some reason to think you would know the whereabouts of the Headmaster." Harry offered. "He was probably told by Voldemort to target you."

"But why?" Hermione asked. "Why me? Why would Voldemort pick me from all the other muggle borns?"

"Because you are the one muggle born that _I_ care about." Harry explained. "You are my friend, that's why you were targeted." He looked down as guilt flooded him.

It was Hermione's turn to touch Harry's arm. She could read her friend pretty well and knew he was placing blame where it didn't belong.

"I don't know if I'm just over analysing everything or what but something is amiss," Hermione said with a tired sigh. "Something doesn't make sense."

"Nothing about this makes any sense!" Ron said as he sat down next to Hermione. "How can Ginny be with Harry?"

Hermione smiled as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Ron, really." She admonished light heartedly.

xxx

A knock sounded on the door before it opened and James stood in the doorway.

"The meeting is finished." He announced to the group of teens inside. "Dumbledore has asked for you two to stay here tonight." he said to Ron and Hermione.

"What did the Order decide?" Harry asked, standing up.

James leaned against the door frame as he answered.

"Pretty much what Moody had said; we wait at the Ministry and ambush the Death Eaters before getting to Harry."

"Any plans as to _how_ you're going to get him?" Damien asked.

James didn't answer, lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Yeah, a few and I don't like any of them." He said. He looked at Harry and sucked in a breath. "Talking of plans I don't like, I have to talk to you about something."

Harry read the annoyance in his dad's body language and knew whatever he was going to say wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Okay." He answered.

James shifted so he was standing properly again and away from the door. He looked pointedly at Hermione and Ron who quickly stood up.

"We'll be downstairs." Hermione whispered to Harry before she and Ron walked past him and out the room.

James closed the door and faced Harry.

"Dumbledore doesn't want to risk Voldemort getting the prophecy," he started, "he wants the orb removed from the Ministry."

"Sounds like a good plan." Harry commented.

"The problem is that the prophecy orb can only be handled by the person it's about." James told him. "No one else can lift it."

The room suddenly went quiet. Damien looked dumb founded at James and Harry.

"So, I have to go to the Ministry to pick up the prophecy?" Harry reiterated.

"I don't want you to get involved." James said at once. "Nothing is important enough to endanger your life! I told Dumbledore that! But he insists that if Voldemort gets to the prophecy then you'll be in more danger." James said, clearly very annoyed.

"Okay" Harry said as soon as James finished speaking. "I'll do it."

James looked at Harry.

"No, you won't. I want you to go downstairs to Dumbledore and refuse."

But Harry simply shook his head.

"I'm not going to refuse, dad. I'll go to the Ministry and get the prophecy."

"Harry, it's too dangerous." James explained. "The Ministry have an outstanding warrant against you and you have to sneak inside that very place! And there is no way I'm going to allow any of Voldemort's men to get within a hundred feet of you!"

"I don't care about the Ministry or the Death Eaters, dad." Harry answered calmly. "I don't even care about the prophecy! I just want to stop Voldemort from getting what he so desperately wants."

James breathed out a breath of resignation. He shook his head a little as he stared at him.

"I don't want you to do this." He said again.

Harry shrugged.

"I didn't want both my parents murdered in cold blood." He stated. "Sometimes, you don't get a choice."

James didn't argue after that. He sighed unhappily but told Harry Dumbledore's instructions.

"He's waiting for you downstairs. He would like to speak to you."

Harry nodded and moved towards the door. James stopped him just as he made to pass by him. He placed both hands on Harry's shoulders.

"If you're doing this I'm going to be right there with you. You won't be alone." He promised.

Harry smiled back at him.

"Me too," Damien announced, "I'm coming with you to the Ministry." He stated as he walked towards the door to join Harry and James.

"Damien..." James started.

"I'm coming with you guys," Damien said, cutting his dad off, "you can't expect me to stay behind while you two..."

"You're not coming with us." James said and the tone alone cut Damien off.

As the two boys watched James reached into his robes and pulled out the golden compass, all the while keeping his eyes fixed to Damien.

Damien looked from the compass back to his dad's stubborn gaze.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he objected, shaking his head.

"You have to go back, Damien." James said calmly.

"I'm not going back alone!" Damien replied. "I came with my family; I'm leaving with my _whole_ family!"

"I'm not risking your life by allowing you to stay," James said, "I spent all last night imagining what would have happened if you got hurt." James stopped, looking away from him as the memory of Harry aiming the killing curse at Damien flooded his mind again. "You're going back where you'll be safe." He told him.

"I'm not running away and hiding like a coward!" Damien hissed.

"I know you're brave and that is precisely why I'm worried." James replied. "I need you to be safe. Voldemort has already singled you out by targeting you yesterday in Diagon Alley. And now with the attack on Hermione and Ron, I fear what may come next..." James stopped, unable to finish. He gathered himself as best he could and continued. "I can't risk losing you, both of you." He said, turning to Harry. "If I had it my way, I would be sending both of you back today." James said, looking at Harry. "That was my initial plan this morning; you, Damy and Ginny were going to be going back." He looked intently at Harry. "You can still leave; if you refuse to go to the Ministry..."

"I can't," Harry said, shaking his head. "I'm staying and fighting against Voldemort."

James looked unhappily at him but Harry stubbornly stood his ground. He wouldn't go back, no matter how much his dad pushed him to. He was needed here and he had to stay back and fight.

"I'm not leaving either." Damien said, making James look over at him. "And if you seriously think I'd leave without my brother..."

"I'll bring Harry back," James cut across him. "I told you once that no matter what happens, I'll always bring Harry back home." James reminded. "Just trust me, Damy."

Damien shook his head.

"No, I'm not going back alone." He said tenaciously.

"How long do you think it will take Harry to figure out wards don't keep him out!?" James asked angrily. "And how soon after will he make his move on the Headquarters?! He knows the location, he's been here, he just can't remember!" James took a breath, an effort to remain calm before turning his worried hazel gaze to his son. "Harry will hurt you Damien, don't think otherwise. You should have learned that from yesterday."

Damien faltered in his angry retort when his dad's words hit him. He remembered how it felt facing Harry with his wand pointed at him. He could never forget the initial disbelief he felt when he heard the words of the killing curse fall from Harry's lips and saw the green jet of light headed right at him. Damien closed his eyes and blocked the memory as best he could.

James put his hands on his youngest son's shoulders, making him open his eyes.

"As long as you stay here, you put yourself at risk. Voldemort knows how much you mean to Harry which is why he ordered Harry to kill you. He's targeting you to hurt Harry and he won't stop until he succeeds. The safest thing is for you to leave and go back."

"I can't leave you, dad." Damien whispered.

"Yes, you can." James reached into his pocket again. "Here, take this." James said, handing Damien the mobile phone. "Remus still has the other one. I can call you once things get better and I have Harry back. You can come then with the compass and we can all leave, together." He promised.

Damien took the phone but made no move towards the compass.

"What about Ginny?" he asked, fighting desperately to change his dad's mind. "I can't leave without her..."

"We'll find her, I promise." James said as he pushed the compass into his son's hands.

Damien looked down at the two items in his hands. He gave his dad another pleading look.

"Dad, I..."

"You should get going, Damy. Call Sirius and Remus straight away and stay with them until I phone you." James instructed.

Harry watched as Damien's expression changed to anger. He shoved the phone roughly into his pocket and without another glance at either James or Harry he twisted the two dials on the compass. The compass sprang to life at once and started glowing. The golden shimmer ran across it and enveloped Damien.

Damien stubbornly kept his eyes on the compass and didn't look up at the two wizards watching him. In a flash of light, Damien was gone, taking the compass with him. Harry felt his stomach twist into knots as he stared at the spot the boy had been standing in only mere seconds ago.

Damien had left without even saying goodbye.

xxx

Harry walked into the large room which had held the Order meeting only a few minutes ago. Although the majority of the members had left, a few had stayed behind. Harry could see Moody was still here, talking in low tones with Remus and Lily. Snape was also still here and was conversing with Dumbledore at the table. Harry's attention shifted almost immediately to the very large man standing in the corner, talking to McGonagall.

Again, Harry felt his stomach clench painfully as he looked at Hagrid. He had spent a lot of time and energy with Damien, trying to reveal the truth of Hagrid's mysterious betrayal. He smiled tightly at the enormous man who had spotted him walking in and was now waving his large hands at him.

Hagrid wasn't the only one to notice Harry enter. Everyone in the room stopped talking and waited for Harry to reach his seat, across the table from Dumbledore. Harry sat down and James took the seat next to him

"Welcome Harry," Dumbledore greeted. "I trust James told you about the problem we face with lifting the prophecy?"

Harry glanced at his dad before answering,

"Yes, sir."

"I hate to involve you like this, Harry," Dumbledore said, leaning forward, "but I'm afraid I don't have any other choice. The orb can only be lifted by you or Voldemort."

"Or the other Harry." Harry added.

"Of course." Dumbledore nodded.

"What do I have to do?" Harry asked, much to James' chagrin.

"You will be led to the Department of Mysteries by members of the Order," Dumbledore explained. "They will ensure your safety the entire time." That was more for James' sake than Harry's. "All you have to do, Harry, is pick up the glass orb that sits in row number ninety seven with your and Voldemort's name on it."

Sitting next to Dumbledore, Snape couldn't help but smirk at the growing annoyance in James. He looked fit to burst with anger as Dumbledore instructed Harry to retrieve the prophecy. Snape enjoyed the sight immensely.

"Professor Dumbledore, I wanted to ask you something about the memory charm," Harry started, making James quickly look up at him. "You said you would reverse the charm on Harry?"

"Yes, that's right." Dumbledore answered. 

"What if something should go wrong tonight and...and we don't get to him. Would Harry always remain under the charm or would it gradually wear off?" Harry asked.

"I don't think it would wear off." Dumbledore answered. "Memory charms don't fade away. They stay until they are forcibly removed."

Harry looked intently at his Headmaster.

"Sir, what would happen if you can't remove the charm?" he asked. Harry knew Dumbledore was a powerful wizard and there was perhaps very little he couldn't do. But he wanted to know for certain.

"I wouldn't worry about that Harry. I have reversed memory charms before and I'm pretty sure I will be able to reverse the charm on Harry too."

Harry smiled, feeling much better. All he had to worry about now was getting his counterpart to Dumbledore.

Almost like he had read his mind, Dumbledore spoke,

"The difficulty will be bringing Harry here. Removing the charm will be fairly easy in comparison."

"If only it wasn't pointless." Snape muttered loudly.

Harry narrowed his eyes at his Potions Professor.

"What?" he asked.

With his usual scornful sneer in place, Snape glared at Harry.

"The Order has to waste it's time and strength to capture your counterpart and bring him to the Headquarters only to remove a memory charm that was most likely self inflicted." Snape said in his usual tone.

Harry felt James tense up next to him. He glanced at his dad to see his hazel gaze burning in Snape's direction. The Professor's onyx eyes moved from son to father and he held James' angry glare with relative ease.

"Severus," Dumbledore spoke quietly. "I asked you not to say anything."

"Let him," James hissed suddenly. "I know what he's dying to say. Go on, snivellus," James continued. "Say it!"

Snape's sneer grew but his dark eyes couldn't completely shadow the spark of rage at his derogatory nickname.

"Fine Potter, I will," he leaned forward as he spoke, eyes fixed on James. "You know as well as I do what _really_ happened with your son! He wasn't attacked or tricked. He went to Voldemort out of his own accord. Why would he do that if he wasn't interested in joining him?"

"That's not true!" Harry defended at once but Snape just ignored him.

"He was supposed to be in Hogwarts but somehow he ended up in the Dark Lord's manor, not once, not twice, but _many_ times!" Snape continued. "Why did he go there, Potter?" Snape asked. "What could your son possibly want with the Dark Lord?" he smirked and leaned back, glad to see the effect his words had on James. He took in the clenched jaw, white knuckles and furious eyes. He knew he was hitting him where it hurt most. "He never accustomed to your way of life, did he?" Snape asked. "I can't see that boy adjusting to live like you. To an intelligent mind, it makes perfect sense. Harry was brought up by the Dark Lord, he lived his life under the Lord's influence and then you came into his life and turned it upside down. You took away everything he knew and thrust him into a world that he doesn't understand..."

"Severus, that is enough." Dumbledore intervened.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Harry shouted.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about." Snape answered.

"I didn't know you had turned into a mind healer, Snape!" James hissed.

"I don't need to be a mind Healer, Potter." Snape returned. "I can see the confusion in your boy as clear as day. He doesn't know where he belongs; that's why he went seeking the Dark Lord! That's why he found him and why he decided to return to him because that's where he truly belongs!"

"You don't know anything!" James spat. "You know nothing about Harry or where he belongs!"

Snape simply shrugged.

"Perhaps, but you know your son well enough," Snape said. "Can you honestly say Harry is happy with you and would never return to Voldemort if given the chance?"

This was where James faltered and it was clearly visible. Snape smirked at James' reaction, getting the answer to his question. He settled further into his seat. Harry watched his dad's face cloud with numerous emotions and silently willed him to answer back to Snape.

"We are wasting time and resource in bringing Harry back here and removing a memory charm that he most likely asked for himself. I wouldn't be surprised if Harry asked Voldemort to wipe clean the last two years of his life from his mind. From what you've told us, they sounded nothing short of torture." Snape said.

James looked Snape in the eyes and said something he never imagined he would ever say to him.

"You're right, Snape."

Snape's smug look vanished at the words and he stared at James in shock. Next to James, Harry almost stopped breathing. James continued.

"The last two years have been torture for Harry. And you're right about him being confused and you're also right about him not knowing where to belong anymore." James thought back to last years' Christmas when a drunken Harry declared that he didn't 'fit in' anywhere. "I know Harry isn't as happy with me as he was with Voldemort," James said with difficulty. "I know that because my son spent all of last year trying to get over what had happened to that monster! I know that Harry regretted his actions; he regretted killing Voldemort, I know that." James' voice nearly broke at that last sentence but he pushed on past it, staring at Snape the entire time. "But you're wrong about one thing. Harry would never go back to Voldemort. He would never _choose_ him, never. And why do I know that? It's because Voldemort made the biggest mistake of his life when he tricked Harry. He played with Harry's mind, tried using Harry's memories to mould him into being a different person to who he was and he failed because of that. Harry left Voldemort because his trust was abused. Harry left Voldemort and no matter what happens, Harry would never return to him."

"He did return to him, Potter. I've got confirmation of that." Snape said.

"Then you're mistaken," James said. "I believe with every fibre of my being that Harry would never go back to join Voldemort. He may have gone to Voldemort, whether he was tricked or not, I don't know, but he did not go to with the intentions of joining him again. And I don't know how Voldemort got Harry out of Hogwarts but he forced this memory charm on my son and I don't care what I have to do but I'm getting my son back." James stood up and then added, "And I don't care what you think!"

With that, James left the room leaving Snape and Dumbledore at the table. Harry gave Snape a cheeky smile and got up to follow his father.

xxx

James snapped the phone close and pocketed it.

"Damien's with Sirius, he's safe." He told Lily and Harry.

"Did he talk to you?" Harry asked.

James shook his head.

"He's still furious. Sirius spoke to me."

"It's fine. I'd rather have him angry than hurt." Lily said.

James looked at Harry.

"A few hours before we leave for the Ministry." He said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the question he had answered twenty times already.

"I'm not changing my mind. I'm doing this."

"We don't need to pick up the prophecy." Lily argued. "We can just make sure it stays on the shelf. You don't need to come."

"You know we can't take that risk, mum," Harry said, "and besides, I want to do this."

Moody walked into the small lounge and nodded at the three Potters.

"We have most of the preparations complete. It won't be long until we leave."

"Okay." Harry nodded.

"Just remember constant vigilance and you won't have any problems." Moody instructed.

"I'll remember that." Harry smiled.

"We're going over the final details to gain entry into the building. You should come." Moody said.

The Potter family stood up ready to join the informal meeting.

"Everything will be fine, Harry." Lily told him again. Harry was sure she kept saying this for her own benefit more than his.

"He'll be fine," Moody dismissed as they reached him. "If you run into any trouble, just send the signal and the Order will get to you." He told Harry.

Harry looked at Moody in confusion.

"What signal?" he asked.

"The Patronum charm of course, what else!" he answered.

"The Patronum charm is a help signal?" Harry asked in surprise. "I thought it was only to combat Dementors."

"It can be used for both." Moody grunted. He turned to walk out of the door but stopped suddenly and turned to face Harry.

"You do know the spell, don't you boy?" he asked.

"Of course," Harry answered.

Moody didn't move from the door. His mismatched eyes were fixed on Harry.

"Can you cast the charm without the presence of Dementors?" he asked.

Harry wondered if he could. He had never tried casting the Patronum charm without a Dementor before. Even when he was learning the spell, Professor Lupin had to have a boggart present that mimicked a Dementor.

"I guess I could, probably." Harry answered.

"You've been near Dementors?!" Lily asked, looking horrified.

"Yeah, just once...or...twice, maybe." Harry trailed off.

"Why?" James demanded.

"They were guarding Hogwarts in my third year. They were looking for Sirius."

The colour on James and Lily's faces just drained and both looked fit to kill someone.

Moody shared a look with James and Lily before looking down at Harry.

"I think I trial run would be a good idea." He said.

"A trial?" Harry asked.

"Just apply the same technique. Think of a happy memory and cast the spell. The Patronus won't be as strong as it's not fighting a Dementor but it should still be clearly visible. You can instruct it to go get help for you." Moody coached.

Harry looked uncertainly over at his parents but they gave him encouraging looks. Harry drew out his wand and closed his eyes. A happy memory? Which happy memory should he use to create a really strong patronus?

He realised that when he was learning this spell, he had to struggle to think of a good happy memory. Now he was struggling to choose one from the last few months. He thought about what it felt like sitting in Potter Manor, having Christmas dinner with his family, laughing with Sirius and Remus.

He opened his eyes and said in a loud clear voice,

"Expecto patronum!"

At once a silvery light shone from the end of his wand before the silver stag leapt out from the tip. The magnificent creature stood before Harry before galloping around the room.

Moody grunted in what Harry supposed was a positive reaction.

"Keep your eyes open next time. Never close your eyes when facing an enemy." He told Harry before limping out of the room.

Harry turned to see his patronus stride over to James who was also walking over towards it. The stag shook it's head from side to side but then faded as soon as James' outstretched hand touched the top of its head.

Harry stood awkwardly as James just stared at the spot the patronus had been standing in. He dropped his hand down and turned to look at Harry. There was a raw emotion in his hazel eyes that Harry couldn't quite name. It was a mixture of pride and love, pure and simple love that made Harry feel almost embarrassed to be on the receiving end of it.

Lily discreetly wiped a tear from her eyes as she watched James walk over to Harry. She could see how incredibly touched and deeply moved her husband was at seeing what form Harry's patronus had taken.

James brushed the top of Harry's head lovingly and pushed the raven coloured bangs away from his forehead before kissing it gently. He hugged Harry, letting his arms wrap around the fifteen year old and hold him close to him, protectively. He kissed the top of Harry's head before letting go of him.

"Come on." He said as he took Harry by the hand and led him out of the room, so they could prepare for their late visit to the Ministry.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please review!! The next chapter is the big one, with plenty of action and, dare I say, surprises!!

Please review!!! Cheers!!


	41. Part of the Plan

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! Hope you enjoy the chapter! It's a long one!!!

**Chapter Forty One**

Harry tightened the binds on the two upholsters attached to his upper arm and thigh and carefully slotted his two wands into them. He pulled on his dark battle robes ensuring his weapons were hidden perfectly from view. He stared at the reflection staring back at him in the mirror. He breathed out a sigh and leaned in closer. He took a moment to look at himself, to really study his reflection.

"You look fine." A voice giggled behind him.

Harry turned to the door and saw Bella standing there, her usual smile playing on her lips. He looked away and started buttoning up his outer robe.

"What happened to knocking?" he asked playfully.

Bella gestured to the door.

"Technically I'm not in your room. I'm standing outside it."

Harry chuckled as he turned to face her.

"Well then, come inside. It's rude to linger in doorways." He teased.

Bella glided inside, keeping her eyes on the handsome boy before her.

"I couldn't find you earlier." She said. "Where did you go?"

Harry gave her a funny look.

"Where I always go before an assignment."

Bella nodded, a vacant look in her eyes. She didn't know what Harry was talking about but played along.

"The rest are ready. They are awaiting your instructions." She relayed.

Harry nodded as he took one last look in the mirror.

"We'll leave soon," Harry said. His eyes darted to the large arch windows, "just as soon as it's dark enough. We need the cover."

Bella nodded and walked over to him.

"Before we leave, I want to point out one thing, Prince." She whispered. "We're not leaving the Ministry unless we have the orb."

"Of course." Harry agreed.

"So if you instruct me to leave, like you did in Diagon Alley, I will refuse you." Bella pointed out. She hadn't quite recovered being sent away like that and from Harry no less.

Harry stared at her for a moment before taking a step closer to her.

"You were hurt. If you had stayed you would have been killed or captured." He looked at her intently. "I won't stand for that. If you are careless enough to get hurt, you leave immediately."

Bella smirked at him.

"Does the same go for you?" she asked teasingly.

Harry smiled at her.

"I won't get hurt," he promised, "I'm prepared this time."

"I don't know, Prince," Bella sang in her childlike imitation. "You got caught last time."

Harry's eyes darken a little but he smirked at her.

"They'll have to kill me this time."

Bella grinned at him and his dedication.

Suddenly the grin faded from her face and she gaped at him in genuine shock.

"What?" Harry asked seeing the rapid change in her expression. "What is it?"

Bella pointed a finger at Harry's face, her eyes wide and fixed on him.

Harry felt it then, a strange wetness just above his upper lip. He lifted his hand and gently touched his face, just below his nose, and pulled his hand back to see his fingers stained with blood. His nose was bleeding.

Harry stared at his crimson stained fingers. His eyes met Bella's and both stared at each other in surprise. He turned back to the mirror to see the thick line of blood seep from one nostril. Harry wiped at his face, leaving smudges of blood behind.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Bella asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No, I don't know what just happened." Harry answered wiping the last of the blood away.

"Are you well?" Bella asked. If the boy took unwell, the entire mission would have to be postponed. Bella didn't want to keep on pretending. She was sick of playing nice. She wanted it all to end tonight.

Harry glanced over at Bella.

"I'm fine." He answered. He looked back at his reflection. "Everything's fine." He repeated more quietly.

xxx

The time had finally come. The Death Eaters had assembled in the enormous chamber awaiting their orders.

Harry arranged the men into two groups. The significantly larger group were told to go to a warehouse that had been chosen as their hideout while awaiting the signal. This group was the backup that was going to be used to ambush the Aurors. Harry handed over the portkeys that had been acquired from the Ministry and instructed that they only use them once the signal was sent.

The Death Eaters bowed to Harry and to Voldemort before walking to the door, leaving only a handful of Death Eaters behind, including Lucius and Bella. These were the Death Eaters accompanying Harry to the Ministry.

"I was under the impression that one third of our numbers would be going to the Ministry?" Avery said to Harry. "There are only fourteen of us here."

Voldemort, who was standing on the dais in the centre of the room, watched as Harry answered the Death Eater with an air of authority.

"I changed the plan after learning what our current numbers were." Harry explained. "We need the back up to be as strong as possible."

Avery looked around him at his fellow Death Eaters but no one looked ready to argue further. Begrudgingly, Avery stepped back and stood in his spot in line. Harry ignored him and turned to face his group.

"We've never tried anything as risky as this before." Harry told them. "Everyone keep your wits about you. Remember we are going there to collect the memory orb, not to kill Aurors. If we are caught, attack with full force but not otherwise. Understood?"

The group agreed.

Harry faced Voldemort at last, prompting the Dark Lord to step down and walk over to him.

"I won't fail you, father." Harry vowed.

"I know." Voldemort smirked back.

With a last nod at him, Harry led the others out of the chamber and towards the main doors. Lucius and Bella walked alongside Harry at the forefront. Suddenly without warning, Harry's steps faltered and he swayed a little, almost losing his balance. Lucius was quick to grab onto his arm to steady him.

"Prince? Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry breathed, shaking his head as if trying to clear it. "I just...felt dizzy all of a sudden."

Bella looked past Harry to Lucius, sharing a worried look.

"Assemble outside. I just need a minute." Harry said, holding his head and grimacing in pain.

Lucius and Bella did as told and led the men outside while Harry turned and walked back up the corridor and further into the Manor.

As they waited for him, Lucius and Bella whispered an anxious conversation amongst themselves, away from the others.

"He's unwell!" Bella hissed. "His nose was bleeding earlier."

"He has a fever," Lucius said. "I could feel how warm he was when I grabbed his arm. He may not be able to do this." He said with worry. "We need him. We can't touch the prophecy, only he can lift it."

"I know that!" spat Bella. "That is why we did this entire charade!"

Lucius looked back at the main doors.

"We have to make this work. If we are attacked, both of us will cover him and make sure he doesn't get hurt. Once he lifts the prophecy and gives it to us, he can be on his own." Lucius devised.

Bella glanced back at the manor.

"If he doesn't drop dead before that." She added.

It was a full half hour before Harry strode out of the manor.

"Let's go." Harry said, not breaking his stride and taking the lead again.

Lucius and Bella looked to each other before following behind Harry.

xxx

The night guard stationed at the Ministry of Magic had just started his shift when the telephone box came clattering to a stop in the atrium. The guard narrowed his gaze in the direction and waited for the visitors to walk out. He looked away as soon as he saw the familiar sight of Auror Alastor Moody walking out of the telephone box, accompanied by fellow Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks.

The Aurors nodded to the guard before heading to the elevators. The guard grunted in way of returning their greeting before settling back into his seat and returning his attention back to the Daily Prophet.

Moody, Kingsley and Tonks took the elevator to the ninth floor. Before they walked out Moody nodded at them. "Go on." He prompted.

Kingsley and Tonks both pulled out small vials containing a periwinkle coloured potion. They downed the potion in one go simultaneously. The potion took effect instantly and counteracted with the polyjuice potion in their system. Soon, Moody was staring at James and Harry.

"Quickly, we haven't got a lot of time." Moody grunted at them.

Harry and James removed their robes, revealing their own attire underneath the Auror robes. Both father and son pulled out their glasses, smiling at each other. They took out their wands and walked out of the elevator and across the simple, rather bare, corridor heading to the single plain black door.

Harry took in his surroundings as he walked along with his dad.

"I've been here before." He murmured.

"What?" James asked.

"This place, I've seen it before." Harry said, staring at the plain black door they were approaching.

"When?" James asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I know how this is going to sound but...in my dreams." He glanced up at James. "When I was with you, I used to have these dreams, where I was walking along this very corridor, wanting to open this door." Harry nodded to the door. "Only I woke up every time before I could."

James looked back at the door.

"Are you sure it was this door?" he asked.

Harry nodded.

"I saw it enough times to remember it." He said. "I didn't think it really existed. I mean, I had never even been in the Ministry when I had those dreams. I just thought the dreams meant I was feeling trapped, since I was in another world with no idea how to get back."

James looked at Harry but didn't comment.

They arrived at the door before Moody twisted the handle and the door opened to reveal a circular room with a dozen doors lined around it. Harry stared at the room as they walked across the threshold. It was lit by blue flamed candles and the ground was so polished it looked like it was standing water.

As soon as they walked inside and Moody closed the door, the room spun around rapidly, making Harry close his eyes so he didn't get dizzy. The walls slowly came to a stop and Harry blinked at the identical doors around him.

"Please tell me you know which door we have to go through." Harry said to Moody.

The Auror just grunted at him and stomped towards the doors.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Harry asked his dad.

"Doesn't have a clue." James answered.

"Perfect." Harry nodded with a sigh.

Moody walked over to the doors and stood before them, seemingly trying to figure out which one they should enter. He at last made his decision and chose one to his far right. Harry and James walked over to join him. This was when Harry noticed the doors didn't have any handles.

"How do we open it?" he asked.

Moody pushed against the door and it opened easily.

"Like that." Moody answered before limping inside.

Harry shared a look with James before following him.

"Oh no, this isn't right." Moody said and Harry could see why.

The room was long and rectangular, lit by lamps hanging low on golden chains from the ceiling. There was an enormous glass tank filled with a deep green liquid. Harry peered into the tank and to his astonishment saw pearly-white brains drifting around.

"Come on, back outside." Moody said turning to leave.

"Is that...?" Harry started.

"Yep, it's brains." James said, pulling a face at the organs.

"Do I even want to know?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I don't even know what they're for." James smiled.

Harry left the room with his dad, looking back at the strange tank.

As soon as the door closed, the room spun again. Moody chose the door directly across from him this time. Harry and James followed and all three walked into a large, rectangular room. It was dimly lit and the air was strangely still and cold. In the centre of this large room was a raised stone dais with a crumbling stone archway. The strange thing about this archway was that it was completely unsupported by any surrounding walls.

Harry narrowed his eyes to focus on the tattered black curtain which was hung on the archway. It fluttered very slightly.

"Come on." James said, gripping Harry by the shoulder.

"What is this room?" Harry asked, still transfixed to the strange moving veil.

"It's the Death room." James answered. "Come on, let's go."

Harry let his dad pull him away from the room. Just as he was about to walk out he heard faint whisperings echo around him. He turned back to the archway.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Harry, come on." James said tightly. He was forcing himself to not look at the archway.

Harry obeyed and walked outside, letting Moody close the door so the walls could rotate again.

As they waited for the room to stop spinning, Harry glanced up at his dad. James was rubbing at his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was nervous and worried, Harry could read that clearly.

"It would be pretty funny if we can't find the right door." He said, making James look over at him with surprise.

"Funny?" James asked.

"Well, yeah," Harry smiled. "Can you imagine; Harry comes here with his team of Death Eaters and we're here with the rest of the Order but we can't figure out which door to go through." Harry grinned. "I think it would be quite amusing."

James' lips twitched as he fought against the notion of smiling.

"You have a weird sense of humour." He stated.

Harry shrugged.

"I must get it from my father."

James grinned at him and ruffled his hair playfully.

"You sure do." He muttered.

"This is it," Moody said, having already opened the door to reveal a bright sparkling light. "Come on."

xxx

Harry and James followed Moody into a room filled with a beautiful, dancing, diamond sparkling light. Harry saw clocks everywhere; there were large clocks and small clocks, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases. There were clocks standing on the desks that ran the length of the room. The room was filled with a persistent ticking.

Harry noticed a huge crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room. This was the source of the sparkling light that illuminated the room. Inside the jar was a tiny hummingbird going through a strange series of events. Harry watched with interest as the bird seemed to regress into a baby bird and re entered its egg, which immediately reformed around it. Then it hatched again and grew into a mature bird only to regress back down again. This routine was repeated again and again.

Harry saw various Time-Turners sitting on a shelf next to the bell jar. He followed Moody and his dad as they walked towards the bell jar and past it where there was a narrow passage between the many desks. Just behind the shelf holding the Time-Turners was another door. Moody pushed it to open and walked inside.

Harry knew they had arrived to their destination as soon as he walked into the vast chamber. He shivered a little against the cold and gazed around the chamber; high as a church and filled with row upon row of towering shelves. A mere glance and Harry saw the hundreds upon hundreds of small glass orbs sitting on the shelves, gathering dust.

"Okay, Harry, You go on from here." Moody nodded at him.

"What?" James snapped, "We're going with him!"

"_We're_ staying right here!" Moody returned. "Harry has to go and collect the prophecy alone."

"Why?" James demanded.

"We don't know if your son is here yet with the Death Eaters." Moody answered. "If he is and he sees us with this Harry approaching the prophecy he might run and we'll never catch him. It was blind luck that gave us a clue as to where he was going to be today. We may not have that luck next time!" Moody explained in a rushed whisper. "And if by chance he isn't here yet then we can grab him as soon as he walks inside." He motioned to the door behind them.

James didn't look convinced.

"I'm going with him!" he hissed.

"Dad, stay here. I'll be fine." Harry said, taking a step towards the shelves.

"It's too dangerous, Harry. I'm coming with you."

"I'm just lifting one thing from a shelf. How dangerous can that be?" Harry asked.

James looked conflicted.

"Harry, I..."

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Harry promised and took a few steps away from him.

He turned to look at the shelf directly facing him. It was numbered fifty three. He had to get to row number ninety seven. Without looking back to the two wizards behind him, Harry set off to his right, counting the rows as he passed them.

It was dark and very quiet. Harry couldn't even hear his own footsteps as he walked past the rows of shelves. He held his lit wand high to make out the numbers on the rows. Finally he walked past row ninety six and approached ninety seven.

Harry slowed his steps as he neared shelf number ninety seven. His eyes struggled in the dim light to pick up the yellowing plaque with his and his worst enemy's name on it. His eyes locked on the dusty orb sitting near the middle, a white mist swimming inside it. Harry reached for the crystal orb, locking his grip on it and carefully lifted it from its place on the shelf.

Harry stared at it, watching the mist storm inside the glass confines. This was it. This was the reason his life was what it was. This prophecy was the reason his parents were killed, why he was left with his magic hating aunt, why he had to grow up without a family and why he was linked to the darkest wizard of their time, Voldemort.

Harry's grip tightened on the crystal, a part of him desperately wanted to smash the orb. But doing so wouldn't get rid of the prophecy; it would still be there, forever connecting Harry to Voldemort. He didn't even know what it was that linked him with Voldemort; what was the prophecy? How would it affect him? The only way to get his answers would be to learn the prophecy.

Harry came out of his thoughts at the sound of a soft chuckle. He looked up into the amused eyes of his counterpart. Harry blinked in surprise, his grip on the crystal orb tightening on instinct.

Eighteen year old Harry stepped closer to him, walking completely out from the shadow that was keeping him partly concealed.

"Well, well, look who it is." Harry smirked.

xxx

"You would think Dumbledore would recognise when he's lost." Harry continued. "The raid in Diagon Alley ruined his charade." He pointed at the fifteen year old boy. "The glamour isn't needed anymore."

"I'm not under a glamour." The fifteen year old Harry responded after a moment. He closed his fingers around his wand. It looked like his counterpart had come alone, but Harry had learned how looks could be deceiving.

The older Harry rolled his eyes and muttered, "yeah, sure." His eyes scanned the younger boy and landed on the small crystal orb clutched in one hand. He looked back up into the determined emerald eyes.

"You have something that belongs to me." He gestured to the orb.

The younger Harry watched as masked figures stepped out from the shadows behind his counterpart. He stared back at the smirking Harry before glancing down at the orb.

Squaring his shoulders, Harry glared back at his older self, ignoring the large group of Death Eaters.

"Yeah?" he answered. "Come and get it." He hissed just before taking aim.

The spell left Harry's wand before any of the Death Eaters could react. He struck the shelf behind the Death Eaters and caused the hundreds of orbs to come crashing down on them.

As soon as he had fired the curse, the younger Harry leapt to the side to avoid the curse his counterpart had thrown at him.

A multitude of spells came at the fifteen year old and he just managed to avoid them by quickly rolling out of the way. He jumped to his feet and began running, not daring to look behind him.

He ducked as he heard the swishing sound of several spells heading his way. An array of lights hit into a shelf, just inches away from him.

"Don't!" he heard his counterpart instruct the Death Eaters. "Disarm him only! We can't risk hitting the orb!"

Harry kept on running, rushing back the way he had come, hoping his dad and Moody would hear the commotion and come to his aid. He didn't want to cast his patronus as doing so would alert his counterpart that there were others here waiting for him. The whole idea of this plan was to use the element of surprise to capture Harry, he couldn't give that away.

Two blurs of smoke appeared before him and materialised into two silver masked Death Eaters, blocking his way. Harry skidded to a stop and turned blindly to run to his left. He stopped short at the sight of another two masked Death Eaters. Turning around, he realised to his dismay that he was surrounded by the group of Death Eaters. He spun around to see his own self, stepping ahead of the Death Eaters, walking towards him.

At seeing the raised wands aiming at him, Harry did the only thing he could. He raised the glass orb high above his head, instantly causing the approaching Harry to stop short.

"Take another step and I'll smash this!" Harry told his eighteen year old self.

The older Harry's expression changed to one of worry instantly and he gestured to the others to lower their wands. He raised his own hands in a pacifying motion.

"Just calm down," he started. "Don't do anything stupid!"

Harry kept his hand raised with the prophecy. He kept his eyes fixed to his counterpart and his grip on the orb tight.

"Consider what your options are," eighteen year old Harry continued. "You're alone and outnumbered. If you hand me the orb, I'll let you walk."

The younger Harry snorted at the suggestion.

"Nice try!" he responded. He felt the orb suddenly pull from his hand. He curled his fingers tightly against the glass, stopping it from flying out of his grip. He turned his gaze to the one Death Eater that had a wand pointed at him.

"Bella, don't!" the older Harry ordered.

Fifteen year old Harry watched as the Death Eater removed her mask and glared madly at him.

"Let's not waste time, Prince." She hissed, still keeping her eyes locked to the younger boy. "Kill him and take what is ours."

"We can't, he'll drop the orb." Harry retorted back.

The younger Harry desperately searched for a way out. He wondered where the hell his dad and Moody were; had they been attacked by the Death Eaters?

"I'm giving you a last chance to walk away from this." His counterpart told him. "Hand me the orb and you can leave." He extended one hand towards him.

Harry looked at his outstretched hand and then at his own hand. Slowly, he raised his wand and pointed it at his counterpart, making the older boy drop his hand away in disappointment.

"Sorry, but I'm not giving you anything." He replied. He would go down fighting if that's what things came to.

Eighteen year old Harry stepped back.

"So be it." He said, raising his wand too.

Before a spell could be uttered, a blinding ball of brilliant white light towered over fifteen year old Harry's head and thundered across to the group of Death Eaters. Eighteen year old Harry ducked to avoid hitting the mysterious ball of light but the Death Eaters behind him didn't react fast enough and were knocked to the ground.

Fifteen year old Harry turned around to see who had sent the ball of light to his aid and saw to his relief not only his dad and Moody but the rest of the Order too. James had crossed the distance and was by Harry's side in a heartbeat, bringing with him the rest of the Order members. All wands were out and pointing at the older Harry who was staring at James and the Order.

The Death Eaters didn't spend long on the ground and were back on their feet, wands raised, backing up their Dark Prince.

For the next thirty seconds nothing happened. Both sides were waiting for something, although neither knew what. James had his gaze fixed on his son, standing before him with a blank expression on his face. Eighteen year old Harry was the first to strike, initiating the battle.

Jets of light flew across the hall of prophecies, some hitting their targets, others deflected to the shelves. The many orbs shattered with the impact, shards rained from the explosions and clouds of mist rose to the ceiling, obscuring visions in the already dim lit hall.

Fifteen year old Harry concentrated on two things only; one, keeping a tight hold on the prophecy orb and two, avoid being hit. He ducked out of the way of a killing curse, sent his way by the only female Death Eater.

"Reducto!" he yelled, aiming at the shelf behind the woman.

Bellatrix sheltered her head and ducked as Harry's curse hit the shelf and a dozen orbs smashed, showering her with shards of glass.

Harry, taking advantage of the distraction, moved towards his dad and Remus. Both men were busy duelling with Death Eaters.

"Potter! Move it!" Moody yelled, shoving him hard between the shoulder blades and literally throwing him in the middle of a protective circle, formed by the Order members.

"Watch it!" Harry snarled as he almost lost a hold on the glass orb, but Moody ignored him, concentrating on sending curses at two approaching Death Eaters.

With the younger Harry safely encircled by Order members, Moody focused on the older Harry. He saw the eighteen year old boy take on five Order members with apparent ease. Another six advanced on him and Moody took that moment to send a body binding curse at the unsuspecting Harry. Before his curse could hit him, a Death Eater with blond hair blocked the spell and sent it back at the caster. Moody brought up his shield to save himself from his own curse.

Lucius and Bella each took one Order member, leaving Harry to deal with four on his own.

"They're focusing on you!" Lucius told Harry as they fought off the Order members.

"No kidding!" Harry responded.

"Get the orb from the imposter!" Bella yelled as she aimed a Crucio at a fallen Auror.

Harry took one step towards the protected boy but was stopped by another four Order members. This time the four men threw themselves at Harry, opting to restrain him physically rather than by hexes.

Harry fought off the four men, throwing his elbow into one's face and kicking the other one until their grips loosened. He smashed his fist into the other two repeatedly until he was free.

"Incarcerous!" Kingsley yelled and ropes flew out from his wand, encircling Harry tightly.

Instead of struggling, Harry whispered a spell and the cords holding him simply turned to smoke and evaporated. Harry retaliated by curling his hand into a fist to form a fireball. He threw it at Kingsley who brought up his shield but the force of the spell made him stagger backwards.

Fifteen year old Harry watched the relentless attack of the Order on his counterpart with dread. It wasn't going to plan at all. The Order couldn't get a hold on him. Too many of the members were focusing on protecting him than attempting to capture his counterpart. Maybe if ten or more of them came at him at once?

"All of you go for him together. He can't fight all of you." He said to Tonks who was standing with her back towards him, fighting the Death Eaters.

"We can't!" she told him.

Lucius and Bella pulled another four wizards away from Harry and duelled fiercely with them. Harry managed to get out of the grips of the other three Order members and had just stunned them when he suddenly pointed his wand at the ceiling and hissed another incantation.

"Expecto Patronum."

The great serpent slithered out of Harry's wand.

"You know what to do." Harry hissed to her in parseltongue. "Go!"

Nagini nodded her head and turned to the wall, simply disappearing through it.

The only one to have understood Harry's message to his patronus watched miserably as his counterpart fought off another attempt of the Order. The fifteen year old glanced around at the Order members encircling him. All had their backs to him and were firing curses at the Death Eaters while slowly edging towards the exit so Harry and the prophecy could be safely taken out of the Ministry and back to the Headquarters.

Taking his chance, fifteen year old Harry took a deep breath and dashed forward and ducked out of the human circle. He ignored the shouts of the Order members for him to come back. He dodged the flying curses and ran towards his counterpart. He would be damned if he left him behind. He would only return to the Headquarters if his counterpart was with him. He knew it would kill his parents if they somehow failed to get Harry today.

"Hey!" he yelled, getting Harry's attention at once.

He held up the prophecy orb to show he was still in possession of it. He tucked the orb close to his chest and turned to run. He knew his counterpart would follow; he had come to the Ministry to get this orb, he wasn't going to let it go to anyone else. Harry ran, ducking and diving to avoid being hit by the flying curses and hexes. He ran to the open door and jumped out into the brightly lit room with the Time Turners.

xxx

Eighteen year old Harry ran after his look alike. He still had the crystal orb and Harry wasn't going to let him get away with it. He fired curses at the Order members that tried to get in his way as he chased the imposter. He saw the boy ran out of the door and he hurried to follow him. He was blocked by six Order members. Harry waved his hand and wandlessly knocked three Order members into one wall and three into the opposite wall before running out of the door.

He entered the brightly lit room and saw that it was empty. He rushed to the door at the other end and had just entered the circular room to see his lookalike disappear through another door.

Eighteen year old Harry quickly pointed at the door and hissed, "Flagrate!" just as the door was closing. A fiery red line slashed diagonally across the door just as it closed. The doors spun around madly before slowing down to a stop.

Harry smirked at the fiery red line marking the door. He walked to it quickly and opened it, stepping inside a cold dark chamber. His eyes searched the large room but he couldn't see his lookalike anywhere, yet this was definitely where he had come. Harry slowly walked down the steps, heading towards the stone dais on which a crumbling, ancient archway stood, its tattered black curtain fluttering gently.

Harry looked around the benches circling the room, trying to see if maybe the boy was hiding there.

"Hey!"

Harry turned around suddenly at the sound but before he could do as much as see who was there, he was struck sharply on the head by something. Blinded by the pain, Harry dropped to the ground. His hand flew to his forehead and he gasped in agony. He could feel his warm blood run down his fingers.

"Incarcerous." The same voice said and Harry felt tight cords wrapping themselves around his body, restricting him.

Harry tried using the same spell as before to turn the ropes to smoke and free himself, but for some reason, the curse wouldn't take effect. The ropes remained in place, tightly binding him.

Struggling against the excruciating pain in his head, Harry forced his eyes open and saw the lookalike standing over him, holding a wand in one hand and a strange wooden object in the other.

"Sorry, Harry," fifteen year old Harry said, looking at him with genuine regret, "but I had to."

He dropped the wooden object to the ground. That was when the wounded Harry saw that it was in fact a heavy looking clock.

Fifteen year old Harry turned his wand towards the door.

"Expecto Patronum." He said in a clear voice. The silvery smoke left his wand and took the form of a magnificent stag. "Get my dad and the Order here." He instructed and the stag nodded once before galloping out of the door.

Awkwardly, the younger Harry turned his attention back to his counterpart. He had hit him a little too hard with the clock he had picked up from the Time Turner room. His heart skipped a beat as he saw blood run freely from the nasty looking cut on his forehead.

"I'm sorry," he said again, feeling horribly guilty.

The eighteen year old Harry opened his mouth, no doubt to hurl abuse at him but the only thing that left him was a painful groan.

"Harry, I...." fifteen year old Harry started but suddenly gasped in pain, grabbing at his forehead. His scar had erupted in pain.

He straightened up, clutching at his scar and turned to face the door. Voldemort was standing before him, blocking the exit. His different appearance would have been a shock if Harry hadn't seen his counterpart's memories.

Shakily, Harry raised his wand at the Dark Lord but the pain in his scar was making it impossible for him to concentrate on cursing him. Voldemort moved suddenly and in the blink of an eye he stood towering over Harry. A wave of his hand had disarmed Harry. Another wave of his hand freed eighteen year old Harry from the ropes, allowing him to climb back onto his feet.

"Harry!"

Voldemort turned almost lazily at the shout. James followed by Moody, Remus, Kingsley and a few of the other Order members rushed inside. All of them fired curses at the Dark Lord but the wizard simply brought up his shield, easily protecting himself.

Fifteen year old Harry stumbled away from Voldemort and was instantly shielded by his father. James stood in front of Harry, aiming his wand at Voldemort but his eyes kept darting to his son standing next to the Dark Lord. His heart jumped horribly at the sight of the blood trickling out of a cut on his forehead. He watched as Harry wiped at the blood, glaring hatefully at him.

The rest of the Order was aiming at Voldemort and Harry, confused as to what they should do now. They hadn't prepared to meet Voldemort tonight. The red eyed wizard could read their fear and it made him grin.

"Well, this is a surprise." Voldemort chuckled darkly. "I never thought I would be killing quite so many tonight." His crimson stare fixed on James. "I guess history likes repeating itself."

Eighteen year old Harry looked over at Voldemort at the last comment, his brow creased. James smirked angrily at Voldemort.

"You better be careful or he'll realise you're lying to him, again." He said, nodding at Harry.

Harry in return pointed his wand at James.

"Shut up!" he hissed.

James ignored him, that's all he could do right now.

"Patience, Harry," Voldemort said, enjoying every moment of this, "Don't kill him yet. He has to see plenty of death before I allow you to kill him."

James gripped his wand tightly and glared at Voldemort. He wanted so badly to kill him, to curse him with the Avada Kedavra right now, but he knew that even if he did, the bastard wouldn't die. No, his Horcruxes would see to it that he survived.

Voldemort's gaze shifted to the younger Harry, protected by the Order members. He smirked and pointed a finger at him.

"Make it easier on yourself and others. Hand me the orb."

Fifteen year old Harry had to quickly grab at the crystal orb tucked safely in his pocket as it gave a lurch and tried to fly out towards Voldemort.

"Suit yourself," Voldemort smirked. "Harry, kill them." He instructed.

James pushed fifteen year old Harry out of the way as the jet of green light came at them. The group of Order Members scrambled out of the way as eighteen year old Harry aimed at them with the killing curse.

The Order members started their own onslaught of curses aimed at both Voldemort and his Dark Prince.

"Get Harry out of here, now!" James yelled at Moody and Remus, pushing fifteen year old Harry towards them.

"Dad, no!" Harry tried to protest but he was having none of it.

"Go!" he pushed before turning around to face his other son and his worst enemy.

Fifteen year old Harry was pulled along by the two Order members while the rest occupied Harry and Voldemort's attention so Moody and Kingsley could get Harry safely out. The three managed to get to the door before finding their way blocked by Lucius and Bella.

"Where do you think you're going, pretty?" Bella asked Harry. She lunged towards him, laughing manically.

Moody and Kingsley didn't let the woman come near Harry and fought her and Lucius.

Harry felt the prophecy give another twist, trying to rip its way out of his pocket. He grabbed at it with both hands again, pulling it closer to his chest. He looked around to find Voldemort aiming his wand at him. He jumped just in time to avoid the killing curse sent his way. Voldemort couldn't pursue his attack on Harry as James intervened. Fifteen year old Harry's scar gave another painful throb and he hissed in pain, holding his head with his hands.

The distraction of his scar was enough for him to be suddenly knocked to the ground. Dizzily he looked up to find Bella sitting on top of him. Her heavy lidded eyes gazed at him for a moment before she pressed her wand painfully under his chin.

"What do you say lovely, are you going to hand it over or am I going to have to rip you to shreds to find it?" she cooed in her mock baby voice. Her fingers buried into his chest, her sharp nails digging into his flesh.

"You can try!" Harry hissed at her.

Bella giggled at him.

"I like that answer." She whispered.

She was suddenly hit with a spell; knocking her clear away from Harry and smashing painfully face first on the ground.

"Did you like that too?" a voice asked sarcastically.

Harry looked up at the familiar voice.

"Damien?!"

The dark haired boy standing over him offered his hand to Harry and helped him back onto his feet.

"What are you doing!?" Harry asked. "You were supposed to go and stay home!"

"Yeah, like that was ever going to happen." Damien scoffed.

Harry looked behind him to see another familiar face, duelling fiercely with the Death Eaters. The pale gaunt face had an expression of excitement as he sent curse after curse at the masked men. Harry looked back accusingly at Damien.

"You brought Sirius here?" he asked in outrage. "He's wanted by the Ministry!"

"So are you, remember?" Damien pointed out. "And I didn't bring him. He saw me when I came back to the Headquarters. He wouldn't let me come here unless he came with me."

Harry's next words died in his throat as he saw Bella back on her feet and taking aim. He grabbed Damien and jumped out of the way as her killing curse flew their way. Both boys were back on their feet, wands drawn and aimed. Before they could send anything her way, a figure stepped in front of them, his own wand aimed at the dark haired witch.

Sirius's thin face twisted into a smirk as he faced the witch.

"Hello cousin, long time no see." He greeted.

Bella's lips twitched into a smile.

"Sirius! This is a surprise." She chuckled.

Both descendants of the Black family started throwing hexes and curses at each other.

"So glad to see you finally out and about. I thought you would have rotted in your hole by now." Bella taunted. "Aren't you sick of being a coward?"

Sirius threw a furious round of spells at her, her words hitting his sore spot.

"I'm not the coward, cousin! You're the one that succumbed to the pressure and joined that monster!"

Bella let out an angry shriek and her onslaught of curses intensified.

"How dare you!" she screamed.

During their duel, both had somehow reached the dais and were now near the stone archway.

"Come on, Bella!" Sirius teased. "Show me you can duel!"

Bella's curse suddenly caught him and he fell backwards.

"Sirius!" Harry and Damien yelled, watching the fight between the cousins.

James suddenly knocked against Sirius, pushing him to fall to the side and not backwards. Both men fell to the ground. The tattered black curtain hanging between the archway fluttered gently.

Bella took aim again but was stopped by Remus. James and Sirius both sat up. Sirius looked to the archway and then back at James before grinning at him.

"Phew, that was a close one." He chuckled.

James glowered at him and stood up, helping him up as well.

"What the hell, Padfoot!" he yelled. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't let Damien come alone. You would have killed me." Sirius explained.

James looked confused for second before his eyes widened in realisation. He quickly searched the chamber until he saw his youngest son, duelling with a Death Eater. In a flash, James had reached his side, blasting the Death Eater away from him.

"Damien!" James growled. "What do you think you're doing?! I told you to go!"

Damien nodded.

"And I did. But you didn't say anything about not coming back straight away."

James cursed.

"Sirius, take him and Harry and go back to the Headquarters!"

"Whatever you say." Sirius replied and happily ran off to fight two Death Eaters.

Damien caught sight of his brother, duelling with the Order members. His heart sank at the sight. He knew it was going to be near enough impossible to capture him and from the looks of things, he had been right.

He saw his brother knock the Order member to the ground and as he looked away, his eyes met his. A look of surprise flitted over Harry's face at the sight of the dark haired boy. Damien didn't wait to be cursed this time and threw his disarming curse at his brother. Harry blocked the spell easily.

"Damy, move!"

Damien ducked and dove out of the way at the sound of his dad's voice. The curse hit the ground where he had been standing only mere seconds ago. He looked up to see his dad attack the masked Death Eater that had fired the curse at him.

Damien leapt to his feet but before he could help his dad, his eyes landed on fifteen year old Harry, struggling with two Death Eaters. The two men were advancing on the boy, sending curse after curse at him, which Harry was just managing to block.

"Accio!" one of them spat and Harry's pocket ripped completely to reveal the glass orb.

Harry grabbed at it with one hand while holding his shield in place with his wand.

"Harry! Over here!" Damien yelled.

Harry didn't hesitate and threw the glass orb in his direction.

Damien caught the orb and subsequently got the two Death Eaters' attention as well. Making use of the distraction, Harry quickly acted.

"Stupefy!" he yelled and knocked both men out with the spell.

"Damien! Give it to me!" James yelled, gesturing to the orb in his hand. The longer Damien had the prophecy, the more attractive a target he would be.

Damien threw the orb towards his dad. The glass sphere spun through the air but suddenly changed direction and instead of landing in James' waiting hands it zoomed straight into the eighteen year old Harry's hand. He had summoned the orb from midair.

Fifteen year old Harry felt his breath leave him as he saw the prophecy land in his counterparts' grip. The battle around them came to a sudden stop as everyone saw the eighteen year old take possession of the glass orb. Everyone knew now that Harry had the orb, no one would be able to get it from him. The Death Eaters took the opportunity of the distraction and disarmed the Order members, holding them at wand point. James and Sirius instantly shielded Harry and Damien but the Death Eaters were no longer interested in them.

Bella's manic laughter rang in the air; they had won, they got the prophecy, the very thing they had come for.

Voldemort threw aside the man he had been torturing and walked nearer Harry, extending his hand towards him, a conceited smirk on his face.

"Hand it to me." He instructed.

Fifteen year old Harry watched helplessly as his counterpart did as he was told. He shared a panicked look with Damien as the older Harry took two steps closer to the waiting Voldemort. Harry smiled and reached towards Voldemort, offering him the precious orb.

What happened next took everyone by surprise.

Instead of depositing the crystal orb into Voldemort's expectant hand, Harry suddenly clenched his fist shattering the delicate orb in one swift move. The echo of glass breaking rippled in the air, catching everyone's attention. Small shards of glass rained down on Voldemort's hand and a cloud of white mist blossomed from Harry's fist but evaporated before it could take any form.

When the mist cleared everyone saw Voldemort's enraged, and somewhat confused, expression and Harry's satisfied smirk.

"Oops," Harry chuckled. "I guess I held it too tight."

Fifteen year old Harry could only stare at his counterpart, as was everyone else. Realisation dawned on them as to what was going on and it left them speechless.

The self proclaimed Dark Lord glared at Harry, never taking his crimson gaze away from the boy. From beside him, Bella stepped forward appearing dazed.

"You recovered?" she asked, eyed wide and full with anger. "How?!" she demanded. "The memory charm couldn't have worn off!"

Harry spared her a single glance before his emerald gaze rested once again on the Dark Lord.

"Of course not," He smirked. "It would have had to take effect before it could wear off." He smirked deeply as Voldemort reacted to his words. His red eyes were positively burning with rage. Harry spoke directly to him. "Did you really think after all the times I had my memories taken, I wasn't going to take some sort of precaution against it?" he asked.

Harry placed a hand over his chest. Slowly a pendant materialised under his palm. It looked like it was made out of twine, twisted into a strange symbol that looked like a rune of some sort.

"_Atsist maina_" Voldemort recognised the rune. He turned back to look at the boy that had tricked him.

"Handy little thing this is," Harry continued. "It repels certain spells. I was told it works beautifully with memory charms. I wasn't sure it would but it was perfect." He placed his palm on the rune and it slowly disappeared from view again. "I picked up this trick for keeping it hidden." Harry said, turning his head to look straight at Damien.

Damien didn't know what to do. He stared back at his brother, too confused to do or say anything.

"You were never under the charm?" Lucius asked, anger evident in his voice.

Harry looked away from Damien to answer.

"Not even for a second." He answered.

Voldemort was deathly still, crimson eyes fixed on Harry, who was matching his stare now.

"I played along, wanting to see how far you would push it." Harry took another step closer to the enraged Dark Lord. "You wanted to have it all," he said. "Have you had enough?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Voldemort still didn't answer.

Harry grinned as he stepped on a piece of the broken glass, snapping it under his foot. The action was solely to drive home the message that Harry had only played along so he could smash the prophecy in front of Voldemort.

Voldemort understood the action perfectly.

Harry saw Bella press her wand against her arm, into her dark mark. He laughed at the sight, making her look up at him.

"It's no use, Bella. You can send out all the signals you want, no one is coming." He looked back at Voldemort to see his reaction. "Unfortunately, there was an incident and your Death Eaters are, well...dead."

Even the members of the Order drew in surprised gasps.

"What are you talking about?!" Bella demanded.

"Well, I believe there was a problem with the warehouse and it caught fire. It really was unfortunate that all your men were trapped inside." Harry grinned at the look of fury on Voldemort's face. "The only supporters you have left are the ones presently with you."

Although eighteen year old Harry was immensely enjoying this, fifteen year old Harry was finding it increasingly difficult to keep quiet. The pain building in his scar was making Harry groan in agony. James noticed and moved quickly to his aid. Fifteen year old Harry clenched his teeth together in an effort to suppress the pain but it did nothing to help. His scar was on fire.

"You won't get away with this!" Bella hissed at the older Harry.

"Actually, you lot are the ones that won't get away." Harry continued. "At this very moment, all of your hideouts and various safety locations are being raided by Ministry Aurors. They will have taken possession of everything that is yours and even if you escape from here today, you won't have anywhere to go." Harry chuckled as he looked from Bella back to Voldemort. "You're finished." He hissed with a satisfied smirk.

Voldemort understood Harry's _change of plan_ and his interest in their hideouts and their numbers. He had planned all of this. Voldemort's eyes were smouldering with anger and hatred so pure it was killing the younger Harry through his scar. The Dark Lord forced a smirk on his face as he finally answered.

"Very clever," he said in his quiet, dangerous voice. "It's a shame you won't survive to celebrate your victory!"

"I don't care," Harry shrugged. "I didn't do any of this to win any sort of a game. I didn't want anything to do with you. _You_ did this to yourself." Harry said. "You should have thought about what I'd do if you tried to take my memories. You should have known I would burn your world to the ground!"

Voldemort smirked angrily again.

"And you should have learned one thing from your _father_, boy," he hissed. "Those who play with fire, get burned!"

The spell hit Harry straight in the chest, knocking him backwards. A few of the Order members including James, Kingsley, Moody and Tonks took the opportunity and attacked the still dazed Death Eaters, grabbing their wands from them and stunning them.

The fight broke out again, the Order managing to overpower the Death Eaters this time. Eighteen year old Harry got back onto his feet just in time to see Voldemort and Bella exit the room. The other Death Eaters hurried to join their master but they couldn't get past the Order.

Voldemort shed the glamour he had been supporting as he made his way out. He had no need for it now as his plan had never worked. Bella followed her master's example and got rid of her glamour too. Both had reached the main atrium before coming to a sudden stop. Standing in the middle of the atrium was Dumbledore. Voldemort glared hatefully at his former Professor.

"You shouldn't have come here tonight, Tom." Dumbledore said quietly.

Voldemort already knew that. He had only come here after Nagini in the form of a patronus had arrived in his chamber. He had followed her to the Ministry.

"You still haven't won!" Voldemort insisted. "You can't defeat me."

Dumbledore looked sadly at him.

"I have never wanted to defeat you, Tom."

At being addressed by his true name, Voldemort's rage peaked and he sent a curse at the other wizard.

Dumbledore blocked the attack and cast it aside, as if it were nothing more than a troublesome fly.

"You don't have anywhere to run, Tom." Dumbledore continued. "It would be unwise to continue this fight. Give yourself up. It's the safest option for you."

Voldemort's cold cruel laugh rang in the air.

"Safe?" he asked angrily. "I'm surprised you still delude yourself with such fantasies." He glared at the white haired wizard. "_Nowhere_ is safe. You and your people will learn that the hard way!"

Both Bella and Voldemort attacked Dumbledore, sending hex after hex at him. Dumbledore duelled with both of them, blocking their furious attack and trying to incapacitate them at the same time.

James, Remus, Sirius, Moody, Damien and the younger Harry arrived in the atrium just in time to see Dumbledore encase Voldemort and Bella in a strange clear blue bubble. For a moment it seemed the spell had worked and both the Dark Lord and his female supporter were trapped inside the bubble. But Voldemort managed to shatter the spell, freeing himself and Bella.

The group leapt into action at once, coming to Dumbledore's aid. Bella and Voldemort were the ones now outnumbered as the four wizards joined Dumbledore. Harry and Damien were told to stay 'out of the way' by James and so kept to the side.

Moody blasted his hex at Bella, successfully throwing her to the ground, away from her master. A quick body bind was cast and the only female Death Eater found herself frozen on the ground.

Bella panicked and fought against the spell, trying in vain to free herself. Just as she gave up she felt the effects of the body bind dissolve, allowing her to sit up. Dazed, she looked over at her master but Voldemort was occupied with the group of wizards duelling with him.

She looked over behind her to see the one who had freed her. Her eyed widened with shock as the eighteen year old Harry stood a short distance away from her. She could tell, just by the look in his eyes that he was the one to free her. She grabbed for her wand and just turned to aim at him when he waved his hand, wandlessly knocking her wand clean out of her hand. Another wave of his hand and Bella skid across the floor and landed in one of the fireplaces. The green flames shot up around her and in a flash, she was gone.

Voldemort heard the sound of the floo and turned to see Bella vanish in the green flames. He turned his fiery gaze back to the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Let's see if you can finish this!" He hissed before suddenly vanishing.

"Where did he go?" Sirius asked. "He didn't just disapparte, did he?"

"If Harry can do it, maybe he can too." Remus said unhappily.

Fifteen year old Harry opened his mouth to speak but his breath suddenly caught in his chest before his scar burst in excruciating pain. Struggling to breathe Harry collapsed onto the ground, his mind ablaze with nothing but pain.

"Harry! Harry! What's wrong!?" James and the rest were by Harry's side, trying to see what had happened to him.

Harry convulsed in agony, his scar blinding him with pain.

"Voldemort didn't disapparate!" Moody yelled. "He's possessing Potter!"

The fifteen year old didn't hear Moody. His mind was occupied by nothing but agony. He felt his mouth open out of its own accord and his own voice, barely recognisable, sounded to his ears.

"Go on, Dumbledore! Kill me! Kill me now!"

Dumbledore had reached Harry's fallen form and he kneeled next to him, his face lined with worry.

Harry cried out with agony as he felt every bone in his body ache. Fighting for control, Harry managed to speak.

"Do it, Professor!" he gasped. "Do it!" If he died but took Voldemort with him, it was worth it.

"No!" eighteen year old Harry shouted and ran towards them. But Dumbledore wasn't going to do anything of the sort.

The older Harry ran towards his younger counterpart and aimed his wand at him. Immediately he was thrown backwards violently. Harry hit the ground, dazed and knocked out of breath. He sat up, staring hard at the convulsing Harry.

"He's blocking me. I can't get past him." He said.

"Can't you break down Voldemort's barrier?" James asked desperately.

The older Harry shook his head, still looking shocked.

"Not Voldemort," he breathed. "Harry, Harry's the one blocking me."

All eyes turned back to the fifteen year old who was still crying out in pain.

"Harry," Dumbledore called to his student. "You can't be defeated by Voldemort." He urged. "You're much stronger than he is, much stronger."

"_No you're not!_" a voice hissed in his head. "_You're weak, so weak!_" Voldemort continued in Harry's mind. "_You couldn't fight me, you can never defeat me. Look at you! You're nothing! Cast a glance over there, that is what you could be if you joined me._" Harry opened his eyes to see his older counterpart staring worriedly at him. "_He has power! Power that I gave him. Without that power, he would be nothing, just like you!_"

Harry struggled to answer him and after a moment he found the strength to take back the control.

"He may have been given power by you but he's nothing like you!" Harry fought back. "He uses his power for good, he always has!" Harry stated with pride. "_You're_ the one who can never defeat _me_."

"Harry! Harry!" James was in tears as he called out to the fifteen year old who was moaning in pain.

"Just...kill him. Do it." Harry pleaded aloud. Through all the pain he thought about his last few months with his parents. If he died now, he would meet his parents, his _actual_ parents. That wouldn't be so bad.

With an unearthly cry, Voldemort suddenly left Harry's mind. He could no longer possess him. The force of him leaving made the wizards at Harry's side fall backwards to the ground. Fighting to breathe properly, fifteen year old Harry sat up, shaking horribly. He looked up to see the enraged Dark Lord before him, crimson eyes fixed on him.

The sound of countless fireplaces coming to life made the Dark Lord pull his hate filled gaze away and look around the atrium. It was already filled with many wizards, including the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. All of them were staring in disbelief at him.

Voldemort turned to give the fifteen year old Harry one last glare.

"You'll lose, Harry Potter. You'll lose everything." He promised.

With that, Voldemort turned and smirked at the eighteen year old Harry.

"I'm not finished with you either, _son_."

Harry simply smirked in return.

With that last promise, Voldemort turned and in a flash he was gone. His sudden departure seemed to snap the Aurors back into action. They rushed towards the group, yelling out instructions to them.

"Stay where you are!"

Sirius, sitting among the group, rapidly lost colour. He was going to be surrounded by Aurors in a matter of seconds.

"Hey, Sirius," Eighteen year old Harry called to him, before the Aurors caught up to them. "Catch." He threw a small circular item towards him. Sirius caught it on instinct. As soon as his fingers came in contact with the soft ball he felt the tug below his navel and in a flash, Sirius was portkeyed, safely back to Grimmauld place.

"Put your wand down! Now!" the Aurors yelled at Harry. The eighteen year old obeyed and dropped his wand to the ground.

"Dumbledore, sir, please move out of the way." The Aurors instructed as they finally reached the group of wizards.

Moody instructed a team of Aurors to go down to the Death Chamber where the rest of the Death Eaters were incapacitated and waiting for them. The rest of the Order was guarding them.

"Mr Potter, are you hurt? Do you need medical assistance?" one Auror asked the fifteen year old Harry, surprising him. He thought he was still wanted by the Ministry. But the Aurors surrounding him made no move to arrest him. They seemed more interested in making sure he was not hurt.

For the other Harry, however, it was a different story.

"Put your hands up! Get on your knees, now!" four Aurors had surrounded Harry and were aiming their wands at him.

Harry obliged and slowly dropped to his knees, holding both his hands up where they could be seen. One of the four Aurors stepped behind Harry and guided his hands behind his back so they could be shackled.

Harry glanced up and met his dad's hazel stare. He noted all of them were staring at him. His eyes brushed past them and stopped on his brother. Harry looked away awkwardly, choosing not to look at him right now.

Fifteen year old Harry was slowly helped to stand up by James and another Auror. He saw his counterpart being dragged roughly to his feet, hands bound behind him.

"Wait, no!" the younger Harry objected at once. "He's not with Voldemort! He was pretending!" he told the Auror. "Dad, tell them!"

He felt James squeeze his arm in a comforting manner.

"They won't believe us." James said, sadly.

He looked over to see his son being led away by the Aurors. He knew enough about the Ministry to know how things worked. He had spent two decades of his life as an Auror. He knew the Aurors wouldn't listen to anything they had to say yet.

"They won't believe us." James repeated quietly as the Aurors led Harry through a set of doors and out of sight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So, what do you think? Did you like it? I hope so. There will be a lot of explaining done so don't worry. Only a few more chapters left. Please review to tell me what you thought? Cheers!!


	42. A lot of Explaining

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed that last chapter. Here's the next one. I hope you like it! Enjoy!

**Chapter Forty Two**

Sirius looked up at the window to see another brown owl tapping furiously at the glass. Tonks quickly opened the window, allowing the owl to hop inside and hold out its leg. The rolled up scroll was taken from the owl and the bird immediately took off, flying out of the still open window.

"What does this one say?" Moody asked, limping over to her.

Tonks unfurled the scroll and scanned the writing quickly.

"Kingsley just confirmed the warehouse. A team was sent to an abandoned warehouse three hours ago after a tip off. They only just managed to extinguish the flames." Tonks said. "So far, it seems like there's no survivors."

"He was telling the truth then," Moody grunted taking the parchment from Tonks and stomping his back to the table. He threw the letter onto a growing pile already scattered on the table. "I thought he was only trying to scare Voldemort by telling him his Death Eaters were dead."

"From the looks of things, Harry was telling the truth about everything." Arthur said, gesturing to the letters and notes sitting before them. "The raids, the fire, the killed Death Eaters, everything."

Sirius shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had a headache. Too much had happened in such a short space of time and none of it made any sense to him.

"With Kingsley sending us notes every five minutes he could have mentioned what's going on with James and the rest!" Sirius groused.

"Dumbledore is with them, they'll be fine." Remus assured. He along with the rest of the Order was told to leave the Ministry while James, Lily, Damien and both Harrys were kept back.

A sound was heard from the main hallway which made Sirius hurry out of his seat and rush towards the door. He appeared in the narrow, dimly lit hallway in time to see four people walk tiredly inside.

James walked in supporting a rather ill looking Harry. Lily and Damien followed behind them, looking exhausted. The four looked up to see Sirius, Tonks and Remus waiting for them.

"Thank Merlin!" Sirius gushed, hurrying towards the people he considered his family. "I was getting beyond worried now!"

He helped James support the pale, fifteen year old Harry, guiding him and the rest towards the main room. Many Order members were sitting around the table, either studying the notes from Kingsley or talking quietly with each other, trying to work out exactly what had happened.

Sirius settled Harry in his own chair and looked worriedly at him.

"You alright kiddo?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head and wished he could stop shivering. He had his dad's cloak wrapped around him but he still couldn't feel any warmth in his body. He couldn't stop trembling.

"I'm fine." He managed, ignoring the looks he received from the rest of the Order.

Damien and Lily sat next to him in silence.

"So how did it go?" Remus asked James.

"I wouldn't know," James fumed, "No one spoke to me."

"What?" Sirius asked, shifting his attention from Harry to James.

"We were put in one of the rooms and left for two hours. Then an Auror came in, told us we were free to go and that was it! They didn't ask me or any of us a single question!" James spat angrily.

"Wait, how is that possible?" Tonks asked. "How could they not question you? At the very least they should have asked who you were! I mean you both are supposed to be dead." She said gesturing to James and Lily.

James ran a hand through his hair but didn't bother answering Tonks.

"I think Dumbledore might be the reason none of us were questioned." Lily put in tiredly. "I'm sure this is his doing."

"I don't understand," Harry said, pushing himself to sit straighter in his seat. "What could Professor Dumbledore have said to the Minister for him to let us go without questioning?" he shook his head, an effort to clear it. "I mean, they didn't even hold me back. Last I checked I had an arrest warrant against my name."

"The warrant was withdrawn." Moody informed.

Harry turned to look at the Auror in surprise.

"What?"

"It appears that orders were put through in the early hours of this morning that nullified your outstanding warrant." Moody told him. "It's detailed in one of those." He pointed to the table covered in littered parchment.

James moved to the notes and letters scattered on the table and started looking through them.

"Kingsley and a few others have been keeping us up to date with the latest happenings at the Ministry." Arthur explained pointing to the stack of parchment.

James nodded and sifted through the some thirty letters and notes.

"It seems the Ministry is still receiving anonymous tip offs." Remus said, walking over to join James. "According to Kingsley there have been owls coming at regular intervals, delivering notes all written in the same handwriting, disclosing more and more information about Voldemort, his hideouts and his Death Eaters. You wouldn't believe the number of wizards he had working undercover at the Ministry." Remus said with a shake of his head. "All of them have now been arrested. Kingsley said they have more than forty locations disclosed and the raids have already started."

James nodded again but didn't look very interested in what Remus was saying. He was scanning each of the notes carefully, before throwing them to the side.

Sirius watched him for a minute before speaking.

"He's in a holding cell." Sirius told him. James looked up abruptly at him, parchments still in his hands. "Kingsley said Harry's fine. He's not been interrogated yet. The Aurors are busy with everything else going on; the tip offs, arranging the raids, making more arrests. Harry's fine."Sirius assured.

James dropped the notes onto the table.

"I didn't ask." he said stiffly.

"You didn't have to." Sirius answered back.

James looked at him but didn't say anything.

"What's the plan?" fifteen year old Harry asked, forcing his hands to stop shaking. "How do we get Harry out?"

James didn't say anything and moved to a corner of the room, head bowed deep in thought. Sirius watched him closely, his frown deepening.

"I'm sure it won't be hard." Tonks said, gathering up the notes and stacking them neatly onto the table. "Dumbledore will sort something out. I mean that is why he's still there."

"And it doesn't take many guesses to figure out these tip offs are from Harry. All the letters are probably in his handwriting." Moody added. "He can easily prove he wasn't with Voldemort, it was all an act."

"I still can't believe he was pretending." Remus said, shaking his head. "He had everyone convinced."

"Yeah," Damien suddenly spoke in a quiet voice. "He's a hell of an actor."

Harry turned to look at Damien, noting the way the boy's jaw was clenched and hands curled into fists. Next to him, Lily dropped her head into her hands. She rubbed at her forehead before looking back up at Moody.

"So we don't do anything?" she asked. "We just let Harry stay there?"

"For now, anyway," Moody said, moving towards the window to let in yet another owl carrying a scroll. "We should wait to hear from Dumbledore first."

Sirius waited to see what James' reaction would be to Moody but was disappointed to see that James merely closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall behind him.

The sound of the main door opening caught everyone's attention. Tonks and Damien hurried to see who had arrived at the headquarters of the Order. Damien stepped out into the corridor next to Tonks and felt his breath catch in his chest in surprise.

"Ginny!"

Seventeen year old Ginny looked up at the sound of her name and her brown eyes met Damien's hazel ones. She quickly closed the door behind her and hurried towards him.

"Where have you been?!" Damien demanded, walking past Tonks and towards his friend.

Ginny shook her head at him as she walked over to join him.

"I know, I know," she apologised, "I'll explain everything but not right now. I need to do something first."

That was when Damien noticed the scroll clutched in her hand. Ginny walked past Damien and Tonks and straight into the room. The occupants of the room stared in shock at the seventeen year old as she strode into the room. Ginny ignored mostly everyone in the room, heading towards one dark haired man.

"Ginny?!" Sirius exclaimed as he saw the girl walk towards him. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you?"

Ginny stopped before him and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry about that." She said. "I'll explain why I had to leave but before I do that, I have something for you." She offered the rolled up scroll to Sirius who looked blankly at it.

"What is this?" Sirius asked.

"Take it, it's yours." Ginny encouraged.

Sirius took the scroll from her and unfurled it, still looking questioningly at the red haired girl. His blue eyes moved from Ginny's smiling face to the parchment and he began to read. His eyes widened dramatically and an expression of disbelief blanketed his features. His face lost what little colour it had and he looked like he may pass out soon.

"Sirius?" Harry grew worried as Sirius continued reading the parchment, looking fainter by the minute.

Remus and James moved closer to their friend just as Sirius lowered the parchment, looking positively dumbfounded. Suddenly Sirius collapsed in the seat next to him, holding his head in his hands.

"Sirius!" Harry jumped out of his seat and rushed over to his godfather, ignoring the way his body protested to the sudden movement. "What happened? What's wrong?" he asked coming to the dark haired man's side.

Sirius shook his head and opened his mouth but his voice failed him. Remus took the parchment from his fingers and began reading it quickly. His eyes widened with surprise too, so much so that Harry moved from Sirius' side to Remus so he too could read the letter. At the same time, James moved closer to read as well.

Harry saw that the parchment was an official looking letter bearing the emblem of the Ministry. It read;

_Dear Mr Sirius Black,_

_In relation to the charges of which you were convicted of on 2__nd__ November 1981, it is my pleasure to inform you that all of these charges have now been dropped. Due to indisputable new evidence that has been brought to our attention, we now recognise our error in convicting you of crimes you did not commit._

_Please accept our sincerest apologies and deepest regrets for the years you served in imprisonment._

_You have received a full pardon from the Ministry of Magic and will be compensated for suffering twelve years in Azkaban, defamation of character and loss of income. Further correspondence will be sent in due course. _

_I wish you all the success of the future._

Amelia S Bones - Cornelius O Fudge

_Madame A. S. Bones - Minister C. O. Fudge_

_Head of Magical Law Enforcement - Minister for Magic_

Harry read the letter twice, just to make sure he understood it properly. He looked up at his dad to see him looking just as shocked and surprised as Sirius had. Remus lowered the letter, letting Lily take it to read.

Sirius lowered his trembling hands and looked up at his friends and godson.

"Pardon," he repeated, "a full pardon."

"Oh God, Sirius!" Lily rose to her feet, having read the letter and engulfed him in a hug. "I'm so happy for you!" she gushed.

"I'm free," Sirius said quietly, his voice muffled by Lily's shoulder. He sounded like he couldn't believe it.

"Indisputable new evidence?" Tonks asked, lowering the letter that had circulated to her. "I wonder what that could be."

Sirius looked to Ginny and quickly stood up to face her, his eyes questioning her. The rest brought their attention to her as well.

"Not every Death Eater was killed in that fire." Ginny said quietly. "One of them was found on the doorstep of Madame Bones, ready to confess his past crimes."

"Peter" Remus whispered in realisation. It couldn't be anyone else. James and Lily were staring at Ginny in disbelief.

"Peter?" Sirius asked, choking on the name of his ex best friend.

Ginny nodded her head.

"But why would he confess after hiding for so long?" Tonks asked.

But Sirius already knew why. He stepped towards Ginny, his blue eyes searching hers with a quiet intensity.

"Harry?" he asked.

Ginny's eyes stayed glued to Sirius as she nodded her head.

"Harry has his ways of persuasion," she smirked a little. "He _encouraged_ Peter to do the right thing and confess."

Fifteen year old Harry turned to look at Damien, who met his gaze full on.

"Was there anything left of Peter to confess?" Damien asked.

"Just enough." Ginny answered.

"How did Pettigrew get to Madame Bones home?" Moody asked.

"Harry didn't want to take Pettigrew to the Ministry, too much was planned to happen there and Harry didn't want Peter getting caught up in it. He took Peter to Amelia Bones' home and left him there." Ginny explained.

"When did he do this?" asked Moody.

"A few hours before he arrived at the Ministry with the Death Eaters." Ginny answered.

"And Peter didn't try to run when Harry left him at Madame Bones home?" fifteen year old Harry asked. He still remembered the way Peter had escaped from him two years ago.

"Like I said, Harry has his ways of _persuasion_." Ginny repeated meaningfully. "Peter wouldn't dare try and run, not after Harry explained would happen to him if he didn't own up to his crimes and prove Sirius' innocence."

Harry understood what she meant. He knew enough about his counterpart to know _how_ he would persuade anyone.

"How do you know all this?" Tonks asked amazed.

Ginny's eyes darted to James and Lily before she dropped her gaze to the ground. Damien was staring at Ginny with a sense of hurt. Harry had told her; he had told her that he was pretending and she must have been helping him. That was why she had seemingly disappeared from the headquarters. She must have been with Harry. How else would she have brought Sirius' pardon with her?

"I...I will explain everything that happened but now isn't the time." Ginny answered, careful to avoid looking at Damien. "I need to get Harry out of the Ministry first." She looked over at Sirius, remnants of shock still visible on his face. "I just wanted to fulfil my promise to him. I told Harry I would hand deliver the pardon to you before I did anything else." Ginny told Sirius.

Sirius looked close to tears at this point. He nodded his head to show his understanding.

"I'll take you to the Ministry." Moody offered, limping his way over to her. "I was just heading there myself."

Ginny nodded and turn to walk with him towards the door.

"Ginny, wait," Sirius called behind her. "I'll come with you too."

"Sirius, you can't," James said at once.

"Why not? You see this," Sirius pointed to the letter sitting on the table, "this is my full pardon. I'm a free man now and the first thing I'm going to do as a free man is go to help my godson, the one who gave me my freedom back." Sirius said happily.

"Sirius, don't go." James repeated, his expression serious.

The smile slipped off from Sirius' face as he stared at his best friend.

"Why? Why don't you want me to go?" he asked.

James didn't answer but Sirius wasn't expecting one.

"I don't know what's going on with you," Sirius started, "but I don't like it one bit! I would expect my best friend to be doing something other than sulking to get his _son_ out of trouble!" James looked angrily at him when he said the word 'son' but he didn't say anything to him. "James, if you're acting like this to punish Harry for lying to you and tricking you then that's just wrong! Get him out of the Ministry first and then be mad at him!" Sirius said annoyed beyond measure with his best friend.

James didn't say anything to him but his hard stare never left his friends face. Sirius turned to leave but was stopped again.

"James is right, Sirius," Remus said. "You shouldn't go to the Ministry just yet."

"Why not?!" Sirius asked.

"Your pardon hasn't been made public yet. For most of the wizarding world, you're still one of the most wanted wizards of Britain." Remus explained. "You can't just walk into the Ministry of Magic and expect to come back unharmed."

"I have this!" Sirius said waving the letter of pardon he had just received.

"Do you really expect anyone in that place to read anything you give them?" Lily spoke up. "They will act first and think later."

Sirius looked at her for a long moment.

"They're right," Moody said. "You should wait until the news of your pardon is made public. Until then, you should stay here."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue but Ginny stopped him.

"Harry went through a lot to get you this." She motioned towards the letter in his grip. "Don't let it be for nothing."

Sirius quietened down at that. He looked back at the letter before meeting Ginny's brown eyed gaze.

"Professor Dumbledore is still there at the Ministry, I'm going to meet him." She said. "We'll bring Harry back." She promised. Her gaze flickered behind Sirius to James and Lily. She held their gaze for only a moment before looking away.

She stepped back and walked out of the room, Moody stomping behind her.

xxx

The magnificent oak doors slammed open as Lord Voldemort hurried inside. Behind him the handful of Death Eaters followed. The enraged Dark Lord tore his way into his private chambers, throwing aside the furniture in his way.

Lucius Malfoy moved towards the large archway windows and carefully moved the heavy drapes aside to peer outside. He drew them back suddenly and looked to his master.

"My Lord, the Aurors are already here! We have to leave."

Voldemort ignored him. He moved towards the large brown chest of drawers and with a wave of his hand he had blasted it aside. Behind it was a small alcove. With a snarl, Voldemort reached into the alcove and snatched out a wooden box.

"If he thinks he can get away with double crossing me, he doesn't know who he's dealing with!" he hissed to himself. "I'll make him watch as I kill everyone he ever knew! I'll tear his world apart before I kill him!"

"My Lord!" Bella cried as the sound of the main doors being broken down echoed loudly. The Aurors had come inside the manor.

Lucius, Bella and the few others present had their wands drawn and were ready to do battle but they knew how horribly outnumbered they were.

But Voldemort didn't care about that. Right now all he cared about was getting his compass. He lifted the wooden box only to stop mid-action. Ignoring the sounds of the Aurors raiding the manor downstairs, Voldemort placed the box carefully back onto the ground. He opened the box to find the golden compass lying in pieces at the bottom of the box. The glass face had been smashed, the two rings snapped into four semi circles, the runes on the rings had been burned black and the numerous hands had been snapped into many, many pieces.

Beneath the broken parts of the compass was a folded piece of parchment. Reigning in his rage, Voldemort reached for the parchment and opened it. There was only one line written across the parchment;

_I saved you the trouble. You're welcome! Love Harry._

Voldemort remembered the threat he had given to Harry; that he would smash the compass if Harry went back on his word and didn't get him the prophecy.

Voldemort closed his fist around the parchment and threw the box against the wall with a furious snarl, making the contents scatter across the floor. The eighteen year old boy had outdone him. He had taken away the only route Voldemort had to get to him.

"My Lord, we have to leave now!" Lucius said as the small group of Death Eaters crowded around him to protect him from the approaching Aurors.

Voldemort stood up and waved his wand in a circular motion. Just as the Aurors smashed through the doors, Voldemort disappeared taking with him the handful of Death Eaters Harry had left for him.

xxx

Harry looked up as he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way. He picked himself up from the cold stone ground and moved to the bars of his cell. His face broke out into a smile when he saw his red haired girlfriend walking towards him.

"Hey." He greeted as Ginny came to rest before him.

Ginny took a moment to look at her boyfriend before she returned the greeting.

"Hey."

"Did you get it?" Harry asked immediately.

Ginny smiled a little as she nodded her head.

"I just delivered it to him." She answered.

Harry's face lit up and he couldn't stop the wide smile that broke over his face.

"It's done? He's free?" he asked.

"Fully pardoned," Ginny confirmed.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bars, sighing with relief. He looked up at Ginny, smiling.

"That's good." He said. "Although, being pardoned from crimes he never did doesn't make a whole lot of sense." He straightened up, shrugging. "As long as he's no longer wanted, that's all that matters."

Ginny studied him for a minute silently before she finally spoke. "I fulfilled my promise," she said, stepping as close to Harry as the metal bars would allow. "But you broke yours."

Harry looked confused. He tilted his head to the side a little and looked at her questioningly. Ginny lifted a hand and reached between the bars to gently touch Harry's forehead, her fingers lightly caressing the deep cut. She fixed Harry with a hard glare.

"I thought I told you not to get hurt." She reminded him.

Harry smiled, taking a hold of Ginny's hand.

"This doesn't really count. Technically, I did it to myself."

"Harry?"

He sighed and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"I'm fine, Ginny, really." He assured.

Ginny slipped her other hand past the bars reaching for him. Harry was quick to take a hold of it.

"How much longer are you planning on staying here?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Why? Thinking of breaking me out of here, are you?" Harry smirked at her.

"It's not a bad idea," she mused. "Although I don't know if you're worth the trouble."

Harry laughed and squeezed her hands lovingly.

"I think you know by now, I'm nothing but trouble." He said.

Ginny wished she could kiss him but the darn bars were in the way. She looked at Harry again and tightened her grip on his hands.

"Harry, Dumbledore is still here. He's talking with the Minister."

As expected, Harry's mood changed considerably. His eyes lost their mirth and his expression hardened at once.

"Tell him to go." he said.

"Harry..."

"Make him leave, Ginny." Harry cut across her. "I don't need him here, messing things up."

Ginny gave him her best pacifying look.

"He can help, Harry." She said softly.

"I don't need his help." he said, "I can take care of things myself."

Before Ginny could say anymore she was interrupted by two Aurors.

"Your two minutes of authorised time is over. You have to leave now." One of them said.

Ginny didn't bother looking around at them. She let go of Harry's hands and stepped back.

"If it makes you come home faster," she said, "then let Dumbledore do what he wants. Don't fight it."

She didn't wait for Harry to argue. She turned and hurried down the corridor, leaving Harry staring after her.

xxx

It was roughly forty minutes after Ginny had left that Harry found two Aurors unlocking the door to his cell.

"Come on, let's go." One of them instructed.

Harry leaned away from the wall and walked over to them. They led him out of the cell and down the long winding corridor. He was pushed through a set of doors and led to the single chair in the room.

Harry was no sooner secured to the chair when three Aurors walked inside. All of them walked over to Harry and stood over him. Harry didn't react to the threatening stance and leaned back as far as he could in his seat.

The Auror in the middle was the first to speak, his dark eyes narrowed in annoyance at Harry.

"It would be to your advantage to speak only the truth." He said. "By answering any of our questions dishonestly, you will only be causing problems for yourself."

Harry looked up at him and smirked.

"That's the best you can do?" he asked, shaking his head. "Damn, you Aurors sure suck at making threats."

The Auror looked carefully at Harry.

"I'm not interested in threatening you." He defended. He turned to look at his colleagues before he began, "What is your name?"

Harry smiled and leaned back.

"Harry Potter."

The man studied Harry for a minute.

"Your real name?"

"Alec Make-Believe." Harry answered.

The Auror looked annoyed now.

"You think you're really smart, don't you?" he asked.

Harry shrugged.

"I'm definitely above average." he answered.

The man ignored the response and instead reached into his robes, pulling out two items. One was a parchment, the other was his wand.

"Do you recognise this?" he asked, levitating the letter to hover in front of Harry.

Harry glanced at it and smiled.

"Yeah."

"Is that your handwriting?"

"Of course."

"You admit you wrote a series of letters detailing information about You-Know-Who and then sent them to the Ministry?"

"You mean Voldemort? Yes." Harry replied.

The Auror looked surprised at Harry. He wasn't expecting the boy to utter the Dark Lord's name. He flicked his wand sharply and the letter zoomed back to him. He pocketed the parchment but held onto his wand.

"Why would you send over fifty letters when you could have come to us with all the information at once?" he asked annoyance in his voice.

Harry straightened up, ready to answer the question.

"I didn't give the Ministry all the information at once because I don't believe an organisation run by a man with a brain the size of a pea, would be able to handle it. That is why I'm staggering the information; drip feeding it to a government which would surely choke had it have to take everything at once."

The Aurors gaped at Harry, not sure how to react. One of them looked ready to curse him, but the Auror who had so far done all the talking, gestured to him to lower his wand.

"We will not stand to tolerate any insults directed at the Minister for Magic or the Ministry." The man said.

"Sit down then." Harry said.

The man ignored his response and instead leaned towards Harry, his dark eyes fixed on him.

"Where is You-Know-Who?" he asked.

Harry laughed and shook his head.

"You're going to have to say his name if you want that information."

The Auror turned a slight shade of pink.

"Fine!" he bit out. "Where is Voldemort?" he asked, his voice trembling a little at the Dark Lord's name.

Harry smirked.

"In hiding."

One of the other Aurors took over.

"We need a location."

"You have over sixty, pick one!" Harry replied.

"Where is Voldemort?" the first Auror asked again.

Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. He could be anywhere."

The Auror moved on. He knew it was useless to repeat the same questions.

"Who do you work for?" he asked.

Harry's eyes flared up at the question but he calmed himself down.

"I _work_ for no one."

The Aurors looked amongst themselves but they didn't say anything.

"You obviously went undercover and stayed with You-Know...Voldemort," the Auror corrected himself, "On whose orders did you take such a risk?"

Harry's cold glare rooted the Auror to the spot.

"I took a risk because I was sick to death with the Ministry's stupidity! Despite an eye witness account, you refused to believe Voldemort had returned. If Voldemort hadn't appeared in Diagon Alley two days ago, you still wouldn't believe it! I didn't want to sit around and wait until Voldemort had grown powerful enough to take over and then do something! I did what _you_ lot should have done and stopped Voldemort before he could really get a grip on our world!"

The Aurors didn't have a response and stood silently, calculating Harry. They turned to leave but one of them stopped and turned back to Harry.

"How many more letters can we expect?" he asked.

Harry chuckled at him.

"You're going to have wait and see."

He had known teasing the Ministry by staggering the letters was going to drive the Aurors insane. He had been right.

The three Aurors turned and marched out of the room, not saying another word to him. The two guards that had brought Harry inside the room, stood on either side, wands pointed at him but Harry simply ignored them.

Half an hour later and Harry was still in the room, waiting to see what was going to happen to him next. The door suddenly opened and the same three Aurors walked inside. They hurried over to him, motioning to the two Aurors standing guard. The two Aurors grabbed Harry from his arms and hoisted him to his feet. The next moment, the cuffs restraining Harry were removed, freeing him.

The two Aurors kept their grip on Harry and led him from the room, through the narrow corridors again. Harry figured they were taking him back to his cell and let them guide him. Soon he realised, however, that they were going in the other direction, away from the holding cells. He glanced behind him and saw the three Aurors that had questioned him, following behind him.

Wondering what was happening Harry continued to let the Aurors lead him through more corridors. He was surprised when they walked through a set of doors and found themselves in the main Atrium of the Ministry.

His surprise was quickly replaced with anger when he saw who he was being led towards. Dumbledore stood with Moody and Ginny behind him, busy talking with Minister Fudge.

Harry ignored the way Ginny looked at him as he approached them. His eyes were fixed to the white haired wizard, smiling pleasantly at him.

"Ah, here you are." Dumbledore greeted Harry. He turned to the five Aurors surrounding Harry and nodded his head at them. "Thank you, gentleman."

"What are you doing?!" Harry asked angrily.

Dumbledore's midnight blue eyes locked with Harry before he smiled at him.

"Making sure the truth comes to light." He answered.

He turned back to face the Minister, leaving Harry to stare confusedly at him.

"I trust you have all you need, Minister?" Dumbledore asked. "You have his testimony; all the letters providing information about Voldemort were written and provided by him."

Harry turned his eyes to the tired looking Cornelius Fudge. The man was still flanked by his usual army of Aurors, even though they were standing inside the Ministry of Magic.

"I still don't understand," the Minister started, looking very flustered and ready to collapse. "All of this was a ploy?" he asked.

Dumbledore inclined his head.

"Yes, it was indeed."

"You did all this, without telling anyone?" Fudge asked, looking like he couldn't believe a word of what he had been told.

"It was a risk, but I believed we had a good chance to succeed." Dumbledore answered.

"And...and James and Lily?" Fudge asked, now looking positively white in the face.

"Complete fabrications," Dumbledore nodded. "It was important for Voldemort to believe the alternate dimension story. He would never have dropped his guard otherwise."

Harry was now completely confused. He looked to Ginny who shook her head at him, motioning for him to stay quiet. Harry, however was never one to hold his tongue.

"What are you talking about?!" he asked.

Again Dumbledore turned to him, behind him, Fudge stared at him in confusion.

"It's okay, it's over now. We can tell the Minister the truth." He said.

"What truth?" Harry asked exasperated.

But Dumbledore had turned back to Fudge at this point, ignoring Harry for the time being.

"I can explain it all again, in detail to you, Minister, if you like." Dumbledore said. He gestured to Harry as he continued, "I think you will agree there is no need to detain him any longer. After all, he is not the enemy." Without waiting for an answer from the Minister, Dumbledore turned to Moody. "I think you should escort him out of here."

"Wait a minute," Fudge interrupted before Moody could move towards Harry. "He won't be going anywhere, not until I understand exactly what happened!"

Dumbledore turned to face him.

"As I have already told you, this isn't really Harry Potter," he gestured back to Harry. "He is only pretending to be Harry Potter, part of a plan we devised to force Voldemort to reveal himself," he inclined his head towards Fudge. "As it were, Minister, you were refusing to believe us so we had to do something to make you see the truth. Voldemort was told that this is Harry Potter, here from an alternate dimension. As you saw yourself, we had a James and Lily as well to convince Voldemort." Ignoring the shocked response from Harry and Fudge, Dumbledore continued. "Harry here was only pretending to join Voldemort. He made good use of his time with him as you can see, he collected all the information he could and passed it straight to the Ministry."

Harry could only gape at the white haired wizard. He had just twisted Harry's plan and made it seem like it was his plan.

"You son of a...!" Harry's furious whisper was cut short by Ginny, quickly slipping a hand into his, shaking her head discreetly at him, her eyes pleading with him.

"So, he works for you?" Fudge asked Dumbledore, still sounding sceptical.

"I do _not_ work for him!" Harry hissed, unable to hold back his anger at this point.

Dumbledore didn't turn back to Harry. Instead Moody loudly grumbled at him.

"You can drop the act now. It's over!" he said.

Harry opened his mouth to respond but stopped when Ginny tightened her hold on his hand.

"Please." she mouthed the word to him.

She was the only reason Harry admitted defeat and he backed down. He continued to glare at Dumbledore though, beyond furious with him.

"Shall we go up to your office, I'm sure you have plenty of questions." Dumbledore said, leading a flustered and confused looking Fudge towards the elevators.

"Uh, yes, yes we should." Fudge agreed.

The Aurors standing behind Harry called to the Minister before he could walk away.

"Minister, should we take him back to his cell?"

Fudge looked at Harry again and his gaze lingered on the boy's face for a moment. He still looked unsure about what he should do. He looked back at Dumbledore before he gestured to the Aurors.

"No, let him go." He said, uncertainty in his voice.

Fudge looked away and walked towards the elevators, his Aurors walking on either side of him, leaving Dumbledore to follow behind them.

The five Aurors stepped away from Harry and one of them handed Harry his things, his wand and weapons. Harry took them and turned to face Moody.

"Let's go, you have a lot of people waiting for you." Moody said and turned to the exit.

Harry exchanged a look with Ginny.

He was not looking forward to this.

xxx

Tonks hurried into the room which held the anxious Potter family, Sirius, Remus, Arthur and Molly. The rest of the Order was in the other room.

"I just got a firecall from Kingsley. Moody is on his way here with Harry. The Ministry have let him go." She relayed.

Fifteen year old Harry saw the relief as it poured into his parents and Damien's expressions. None of them spoke a word but the way their eyes closed in silent thanks and the lines of worry disappearing from their faces was evident enough.

Just after Tonks had walked inside, Ron and Hermione rushed in after her. They quickly headed towards Harry.

"Harry! Thank goodness you're back! I have to tell you something import...!" Hermione stopped suddenly at the sight of Damien. She looked around the room and saw the rest. "What happened?" she asked fearfully.

In a quiet voice, Harry told her and Ron what had happened at the Ministry and how they had learnt that his older counterpart was only pretending to be under the memory charm.

"He's just on his way back now, Moody and Ginny are bringing him."

Ron looked over at Hermione but neither of them spoke.

"I still don't understand exactly what's happened," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "But I think once Harry arrives he can do the explaining."

"He better, he has a lot to answer for." Damien added quietly.

At the other end of the room, Remus walked over to his friend, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't take Padfoot's words to heart, Prongs," he said. "You know what he's like, speaks before his mind really catches up on things. He's just worried." James didn't respond. He continued staring at the ceiling, leaning against the wall. "James, I can understand how you must be feeling," at this James looked round at him. Remus continued, "I know you must be mad at Harry for what he did. It was a very dangerous game he played with Voldemort," at the mention of the dark wizard, James looked away angrily. "But you can't take that anger out on him right now. Tempers are going to fly but you can't be one of them. Try and calm down before he arrives." Remus suggested.

James took one look at Remus before straightening up and walking away from him. Remus sighed sadly, he hadn't really expected his stubborn, hot headed friend to listen but still, he was disappointed.

From the other corner of the room, Harry watched his dad walk away from Remus and he too felt disappointed with the way his dad was acting. He turned to Damien, Ron and Hermione.

"Dad isn't listening to anyone." Harry said out loud. "He's so angry."

Damien glanced at his dad who had walked over to Lily and was conversing quietly with her.

"I don't blame him." Damien said.

Harry looked at him with surprise. He didn't think Damien would side with his dad and go against his brother.

"Surely you can understand why Harry did what he did?" Harry said quietly.

"I understand perfectly!" Damien hissed. "It's not like this is the first time he's ever tricked us! He did this last year as well and it blew up spectacularly in his face! He was almost killed by Aurors then! And now he...!" Damien stopped himself and shut his eyes rubbing at his head with frustration. "I begged him," he said, shaking his head. "I begged Harry not to go anywhere near Voldemort. And what does he do? He plays the most dangerous game he can with him!" he looked up at Harry with fear filled eyes. "What if Voldemort had realised Harry was playing him? What if he caught him out? All it would take is half a second of Legimens and Voldemort would have known Harry was lying to him." he shook his head again, the fear in his eyes replaced with sheer anger. "Harry's so stupid! He's so...! I hope dad really let's him have it this time!"

"You don't mean that." Harry consoled, knowing how close the boy was to his elder brother.

"No, this time I do. I really do. Harry has to realise he can't do this to us." Damien argued.

"I'm sorry," Hermione began looking a little embarrassed to have disrupted the conversation. "I don't mean to interrupt but I have to ask, you said Harry did the same thing last year? But I thought Voldemort was dead?" she asked Damien.

Damien nodded his head.

"He was, Harry didn't pretend he had joined Voldemort, he pretended to have killed Tonks."

The said witch happened to be passing by them at that moment and stopped at the sound of her name. She looked alarmed at the topic of discussion between the four teens. Damien shook his head at her and waved a hand.

"Long story, but you weren't really dead. You were just playing dead." He explained.

"Oh," Tonks sighed with relief. "Well, that's good." She walked past them to the door and walked out.

Damien shut his eyes and rubbed at them tiredly. Harry clapped a hand on his shoulder, feeling immensely sorry for the boy.

"It'll all be over soon, Damy." He consoled.

Damien looked up at him, shaking his head again.

"Are you kidding? Wait till Harry comes, then see how dad starts on him."

The words were just out of his mouth when the front door opened and footsteps could be heard approaching. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and waited to see who had arrived. Moody walked inside the room, leading the seventeen year old Ginny and of course, Harry.

Harry's emerald gaze swept through the room to see who was there. His gaze stopped on James.

A sudden awkwardness descended on the room, stifling the air and making the occupants squirm in discomfort. James held Harry's gaze and for a moment everything stood still; no one spoke a word and not a muscle was moved. Then with slow steps, Harry walked towards his dad. James moved from the wall he had been leaning on and walked towards Harry as well.

Fifteen year old Harry stood up, watching warily as his dad and his counterpart walked towards each other. He watched silently as did the rest, praying to himself that both father and son remained civil to each other. He knew just how angry his dad was on the moment and he already knew just how hot tempered he himself was.

Harry and James met in the middle of the room and for the first moment or so, both just stood before the other. James' hazel gaze was fixed on Harry and he was studying every inch of his son's face. Harry was doing the same. Surprisingly, a slow smile spread on James' face and his features relaxed. He opened his arms to Harry and the eighteen year old stepped into his dad's embrace, smiling as well.

"You did it!" James said, hugging him fiercely. "You did it!"

Everyone was staring at them in shocked disbelief. Damien stepped forwards, shocked hazel eyes fixed incredulously on his dad.

"Wait a minute," he started, making both Harry and James look at him. "You _knew_?" he asked his dad. "You knew he was _pretending_?"

James turned apologetic eyes to his youngest son.

"Yes, I knew." He confirmed.

Behind him, Lily had walked over and had tightly embraced Harry.

"Mum?" Damien asked in shock. "You too?"

Lily looked over at him.

"I'm sorry, Damy." She said.

Damien looked at his family, still unable to fully comprehend what was going on. They knew about Harry's act, they were all in this together, all of them, except him.

"Did anyone else know?" he asked angrily, his gaze sweeping past Ginny. He already knew about her.

Tentatively Hermione raised her hand in the air. This time, even eighteen year old Harry looked surprised.

"I didn't tell you." He said.

"I sort of worked it out." She admitted.

"How could you have known?" Sirius asked James. "Did you know from the beginning?"

"No, I found out the night of the incident in Diagon Alley." James explained.

"Okay, can someone please explain what is going on?" Fifteen year old Harry asked, confused beyond belief.

James turned to look at his eighteen year old, smiling a little.

"It was your plan, you do the explaining." He said.

With a sigh, Harry turned to face Ginny.

"The beginning is probably a good place to start." He said.

Ginny nodded and stepped forward, facing Damien.

"We only found out about Harry's act the night of the raid in Diagon Alley." She started. "That night, we all were upset about what had happened. I was no different. I thought we had lost Harry for sure." She turned to look at Harry and smiled. "After I ran out of the main room, I went upstairs to have a good cry...."

_Flashback _

Ginny wiped at her face, drying it the best she could with her hands. Sniffing, she gathered herself and stood up. She had to be stronger, she had to support Damien. He was distraught right now.

She started moving back down the corridor when another sound halted her steps. There it was again, a slight creak. Was it the floorboards? Was she making the sound or was there someone with her in the darkened corridor?

Gripping her wand, Ginny turned around, peering into the dark. She took one step, holding her wand before her when it happened. She felt a strong, painful grip on her wrist. Whoever had grabbed her pulled her forward sharply, leaving her no time to elicit a scream. A hand clamped down on her mouth, stopping the gasp from leaving her. She was pushed roughly against the wall, her back hitting the wall hard. Her painful whimper was muffled by the hand gagging her. A painful twist of her restrained hand and Ginny's wand fell from her grasp, hitting the floor with a clatter. Her frightened brown eyes searched the shadow towering over her and she felt a scream gurgle deep in her throat when she noticed the emerald green eyes of her attacker.

_Harry!_

Ginny was suddenly pulled along, dragged deeper down the corridor. Ginny fought as much as she could, banging her fists and kicking out, trying to get free but her abductor's grip never wavered. They passed by one of the wall torches that was still emitting a faint glow of light and Ginny saw that it was indeed Harry that had her in his fierce grip. His hair was wet and dropped over his forehead, almost falling into his eyes.

Ginny tried screaming, she tried fighting him but she couldn't do anything to stop him. Harry opened one of the doors and dragged the struggling Ginny inside with him before kicking the door to close again.

Inside the room, Ginny fought harder against Harry. Her fists smashed into his hard chest but it made no difference. With one swift move, Harry had captured Ginny's flailing wrists and pinned them above her. Ginny's muffled cry was all that was heard in the dark room. She tried kicking out but couldn't as her body was pinned between the wall and Harry, she couldn't do anything. She closed her eyes tightly in fright.

"Ginny."

The whispered sound of her name made her insides melt. She opened her eyes and looked at the boy before her. She saw the soft look in his eyes and she felt her heart leap in her chest. Slowly, the hand covering her mouth lifted but Ginny still couldn't find the air to breathe. She was locked in Harry's gaze.

"Harry?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"It's me, Ginny. It's me." Harry whispered before he moved and his mouth closed on hers.

The kiss was intense but Ginny didn't notice. Her hands were still pinned against the wall by Harry's grip but she didn't care. All she knew was that she was with Harry and that he was still here; she hadn't lost him, he wasn't under Voldemort's spell, he was still here, he was still _hers_.

Harry pulled away only to kiss her harder again. He finally freed her trapped wrists and moved his hands to the back of her neck so he could pull her deeper into the kiss. Ginny didn't realise it until later but she was crying. She had missed him so terribly much. She had been away from him for months.

Finally, Harry broke the kiss and the next moment he had Ginny in his warm embrace. Ginny gripped at Harry with both arms, not wanting to let go.

"Oh God, Harry!" she sobbed. "Oh God, I thought...I thought you...!"

"I know, I know," Harry returned, cutting her short. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry." He repeated, hugging her tightly, kissing her hair.

Slowly, Harry pulled her out of his embrace, much to Ginny's dismay. He looked her over, holding her wrists in his hands gently.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, pain evident in his voice.

Ginny was quick to shake her head, even though his fierce grip on her wrists had been painful.

"I'm sorry," he apologised again. "I didn't mean to be rough. I only wanted to get you in here quickly, without any of the others knowing."

Ginny looked intently at him.

"Why?" she asked. "What is going on?"

In answer, Harry revealed the strange looking pendant around his neck.

"It's an amulet." He explained in a quiet voice. "It protects against memory charms."

Ginny understood what must have happened. Voldemort's memory charm was repelled by the amulet, that's why Harry was unaffected.

"Harry..." Ginny started.

"Why did you come?" Harry suddenly asked, cutting her off.

Ginny stared at him.

"We came for you." She answered. "The compass was never faulty. It..."

"You have to leave," Harry cut her off again. "All of you have to go back."

"Harry..." Ginny started but Harry shook his head, his grip on her tightening again.

"Please, Ginny," he whispered. "Please, take mum, dad and Damien and go. You don't know how much danger you all are in."

"Harry," Ginny said louder this time. "We're not going anywhere without you."

Harry let go of her suddenly and moved a few steps back.

"You don't understand!" he hissed. "Voldemort is targeting you, all of you! He's not going to stop and I can't do what I need to with all of you here. I can't protect you while I'm pretending to be with him!" he walked over to her again, intense green eyes locked with hers. "I can't lose you, any of you," he begged. "Please, go back. You'll be safe there."

Ginny placed both her hands on either side of Harry's face, gazing into his pained emerald eyes.

"I'm only saying this to you once, Harry. I'm not leaving you. When I go back to my world, it will only be when I hold your hand in mine."

Harry closed his eyes, his head leaning against hers, their foreheads touching.

"Ginny..."

"Shush, Harry," Ginny said, hearing the pleading tone again. "Don't ask me to leave again. I'm staying with you. I can't leave you, never again." She whispered the last words, her fingers caressing the side of Harry's face, "never again."

xxx

James was blocking out the comforting words both his friends were saying to him. He couldn't believe them; things weren't going to sort themselves out, they didn't know Harry, they didn't know what he was like, or just what he could do.

James' gaze drifted over to Damien to see him sitting quietly with the other Harry on the rug. The fading bruises were still visible on his face. Harry had done that to him. The same Harry that doted on his younger brother, the same Harry that went to extraordinary lengths to always protect Damien, that Harry had almost killed him today.

James shut his eyes and rubbed at them, willing the awful memory away; when Harry fired the killing curse at Damien, the green light coming at him. Damien had just managed to avoid getting hit.

'Avada Kedavra!'

Harry's voice rang in his head. James didn't think he would ever forget today, what almost happened today.

'Dad?'

James looked up, his eyes seeking out Damien. But the boy hadn't been the one to call out to him. He was still sitting on the threadbare rug, head bowed and lost deep in his thoughts. James looked around at Remus and Sirius, both of them were busy talking to Lily.

'Dad?'

Harry's voice echoed in James' head. He looked at the fifteen year old Harry sitting next to Damien and saw the boy talking quietly with Damien. James shut his eyes and rubbed at his head, trying to concentrate on the voice. Was he imagining it? He must be, why else would he hear Harry's voice in his head?

He looked up, distracted when Harry and Damien got up and walked out of the room. They were going to bed, it was late and the boys were tired.

'Dad? I need you.'

Again, Harry's voice whispered inside James' head, making him clench his fists into balls and squeeze his eyes shut. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to get up, to go and find where his son was, to answer his call.

'Dad? Please...'

James shot to his feet, unable to fight his instincts any longer. He ignored the calls behind him and headed towards the door. He vaguely registered Remus telling Sirius to not follow him, to let him go so he could deal with things his own way.

James didn't stop, he let his instincts take over and his feet led him to the room upstairs, the room he and Lily were staying in. James opened the door to his room and rushed inside, his eyes searching the room furiously. But the room was empty, no one was there. He felt his heart plummet down in disappointment, had he really expected Harry to be in the room, waiting for him?

He heard the door quietly close behind him and a soft click told him it had been locked. Slowly, James turned around to face the door. Harry stood there, against the wall, just staring at him.

"I had a feeling this may work." Harry said quietly.

James couldn't detect any malice in Harry's voice. In fact, he sounded quieter than usual. A quick glance and James saw that Harry didn't have his wand in his hands. But James knew for Harry to attack him, he didn't necessarily need a wand. James could feel the weight of his own wand, sitting in his pocket but he didn't want to reach for it. He couldn't point it at his son; he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Ever since you found me at the Ministry that day with the Dementors," Harry continued, "I thought you could hear me when I called for you."

James stared at Harry with surprise, his hazel eyes widening at the mention of that day last year. Harry smiled at him.

"I meant to tell you, I _was_ calling out to you." He admitted.

James took a step nearer to Harry, his heart hammering at his insides.

"I guess when I did that magical transfer and gave you part of my core; it forged this bond between us." Harry continued. "Or it's simply a father's intuition."

James stared at his son, his heart breaking with relief.

"Harry?" he whispered.

"It's me, dad," Harry said just as quietly, "It's me."

James had Harry in a fierce embrace in seconds.

"Thank God! Harry! Oh, thank Merlin!" James kept muttering as he held onto his son, relief pouring into every inch of him.

Harry wrapped his arms around James too and hugged him tightly. He had never thought he would miss this man so much.

James pulled Harry out of his embrace and worried eyes looked him over.

"Harry, what is going on?" he asked, desperate to make sense of what was happening.

"Voldemort decided to take a page out of his counterpart's book." Harry said, burying the emotions that came with these words. "He tried to take my memories, he wanted me to forget the last two years of my life, he wanted me to believe I was still with him and he was my father." Harry revealed the amulet to James, similarly to how he revealed it to Ginny and explained what it did. "This is what protected me from the memory charm." Harry said.

"When did you get this?" James asked, touching the rune shaped pendant.

"After I found out that Voldemort had travelled to our world and had attacked Lucius and Narcissa, I thought he might try something like this." Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "He had seen their memories and I was afraid he might learn from them and do what his counterpart had been doing to me all my life. I knew that Voldemort would try to control me, like...like _he_ had." He shook his head to clear it. "I wanted to protect myself, so I visited knockturn alley one night and got this."

James looked back at the rune, silently thanking whoever it was that sold his son the amulet. It had saved him.

"You shouldn't have come here, dad." Harry said quietly, making James look up from the amulet. "You have to go back."

"I will go back," James said, "with you."

Harry shook his head.

"I have to finish this before I can even think of leaving." Harry answered.

"You won't be doing anything," James said sternly, "We're leaving and going back, right now!"

Harry shook his head at his dad and moved a step away.

"Not until I finish this." He repeated.

"Harry! If you think I'm going to let you walk out of here and go back to _him..._!"

"I have to, dad!" Harry retorted. "I can't let him get away with what he tried to do."

James moved to Harry, cupping his face between his hands.

"Forget about it, Harry," James urged, "He failed; his memory charm didn't work. You don't have to do anything. Just leave him as he is and we'll go back and..."

"And what?" Harry interrupted, "and I can run away from him, back to my world where I can hide from him?" Harry pulled himself away from James. "I'm _sick_ of running from him. I'm tired from always having to hide from him, dad." His fierce emerald eyes locked with James. "I'm not going to run from him, not anymore. He started this and I'm going to finish it!"

"Harry," James implored desperately, "I don't want you anywhere near Voldemort! He's a Legimens! He could tell you're lying to him. I won't let you risk your life in an attempt to take revenge!"

Harry shook his head violently at him and began pacing the floor.

"This isn't about revenge! I was willing to walk away from him! After everything he did, the attack on Lucius and Narcissa, even that stunt he pulled with Sirius and the Dementors, I was still ready to let him be!" Harry raged. James looked confused when Harry mentioned Sirius and Dementors. He didn't know what had happened but he kept quiet as his son continued, "After everything, I was still willing to walk away from him but not after what he tried to do to me!" He looked up suddenly at James, stopping mid pace. "I can't let him get away with trying to take my memories," Harry said, this time his voice had a pleading edge to it. "You have to understand that." He urged.

James did understand. He knew that the one thing that still bothered Harry to the point of losing control was his missing memories. Harry couldn't deal with the fact that Voldemort had manipulated his memories and taken parts of his life away from him. Harry would never forgive the man he called 'father' for doing that to him, so how could he let _this_ Voldemort get away with it?

James walked over to his distressed son and gently took him by his shoulders.

"Alright, Harry," he said quietly. "I do understand and I won't stop you but you have to explain exactly what it is you're planning on doing."

Harry in turn placed his hand on his dad's.

"Trust me, dad." He answered. "I know what I'm doing."

"I do trust you," James said. "It's _him_ I don't trust! And it's killing me that you're going back to him."

Harry held his dad's worried gaze.

"I'm not going back to him." He said. "I never will."

James stood still, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

"Harry..."

But Harry suddenly grabbed at his robes pocket. He pulled out his wand to see it glowing.

"I don't have much time," Harry said, pocketing his wand. "The glamour I cast on the room so it seems that I'm still there is about to run out." Harry explained. "I have to go."

"Harry, wait..." James started.

"It'll be over soon, dad," Harry said, "probably by tomorrow night."

"What will happen tomorrow night?" James asked urgently.

But Harry shook his head.

"I don't know for sure," he said. "I didn't come here to let you know what Voldemort's up to. He hasn't disclosed any of his plans to me yet." Harry looked at his dad and his gaze softened. "I came so that you knew that I'm still here. I didn't want you to think I had...gone...back to the way I used to be." A look of shame washed over his features as he continued. "What happened today, in Diagon Alley, I was only trying to keep you out of the fight. I didn't want anyone else attacking you. If they thought I was the one dealing with you, no one else would attack you."

James nodded his head. He didn't blame Harry for attacking him.

"What about Damien?" James asked quietly. He was furious with Harry over that.

At this Harry looked away completely, refusing to meet his dad's gaze.

"You have to send him back." Harry said quietly, ignoring the question. "Voldemort's targeting him. You have to send him back." He looked back up at him. "All of you go back and when I'm done..." Harry stopped when he saw James shake his head at him.

"I'm not leaving without you." He said simply.

Harry sighed in defeat.

"You and Ginny, both are stubborn as hell." Harry told him. His wand started glowing brighter and Harry hastily looked at it.

"I have to go," he said, sounding very much like he didn't want to leave. "Promise me you'll send Damien back. He's not safe here."

"I will." James promised.

Harry hesitated for a moment before he moved towards James and hugged him, tightly.

"It'll be over soon, dad, I promise." He whispered to him.

"Stay safe, Harry." James responded, wishing he didn't have to let him go. But James knew he couldn't stop Harry. He had to trust his son. He _had_ to let him go.

Harry gave James one last look before he disapparated back to Voldemort's manor, leaving James standing alone in his room.

_End Flashback_

The occupants of the room stood in silence as James finished recalling his meeting with Harry. Remus and Sirius couldn't stop staring at their friend. He had not told anyone, except of course for his wife, Lily, about meeting Harry. They couldn't believe James could keep such a secret from them.

Fifteen year old Harry remembered that night, two nights ago. He had lain in his bed and heard his dad talking with someone in his room but had thought it was Sirius that James was talking to. He never imagined it could be his counterpart.

"Where did you go?" Lily asked Ginny all of a sudden.

Ginny shared a look with Harry before clearing her throat.

"I went to the muggle world. I wanted to help Harry so I stayed in a muggle hotel where Harry could meet me whenever he needed to." Ginny explained. "I was the one who sent Harry's letters by post to the Ministry. I staggered the post on Harry's instructions. I went to Madame Bones' house shortly after Peter was left there. I was the one who gave Madame Bones a condensed version of the information sent to the Ministry and I stayed with her until she completed the paperwork for Sirius' pardon."

Sirius looked over at Harry at the mention of his pardon but the raven haired boy wasn't looking at him. His emerald gaze was fixed on his younger brother, who looked angrier than before the explanations had started.

"This is a lot to take in," Remus said, sinking into a seat. "Why didn't you tell us the truth?" he asked, directing the question at both James and Lily.

"The less people that knew the truth, the better it was," James explained. "We couldn't risk Voldemort finding out the truth."

"You didn't want Voldemort finding out or me?!" Damien asked, angry beyond belief.

"Damy," Lily started.

"Don't!" the fifteen year old erupted. "Don't _Damy_ me!" he stared hard at his parents. "You knew, you knew everything and you didn't tell me!"

"Hurtful, isn't it?" James asked quietly. "When your own blood keeps secrets from you?"

Damien gaped at him.

"You chose a time like this to teach me a lesson?!" he asked.

James smiled at him.

"No, Damien. I didn't do this to teach you a lesson. I didn't tell you for the simple reason that you were safer believing the opposite."

"Safer?!" Damien asked. His hazel eyes darted to Harry and he glared at his older brother. He glanced back at his dad. "He tells you to send me back and you do it!" he accused.

"Damien, don't get upset," Ginny tried. "We weren't trying to single you out or anything like that," she said. "But Voldemort was targeting you. It was safer for you to leave and go back to our world, away from Voldemort."

"Voldemort was targeting everyone!" Damien responded.

"He was interested in you," Harry said, speaking to his brother for the first time since walking into the room. "You had to get as far away from him as possible."

Damien fell silent and just stared at Harry for a moment. His hazel eyes were blazing with hurt and anger.

"So you thought the best way to keep me safe was to let me believe you were under his spell and I should hide from you?" he asked.

Harry held Damien's gaze but he coloured a little.

"I didn't have a choice." He answered.

"Don't give me that rubbish, Harry!" Damien yelled. "You _chose_ to tell dad! You _chose_ to tell your girlfriend! And you chose NOT to tell me!"

"Would you have left?" Harry asked still eerily calm. "If I had appeared in your room in the middle of the night, told you the truth and asked you to leave and go back, would you have?"

Damien stared incredulously at him.

"When have I ever gone against you?" he asked with hurt. "I always do whatever you ask of me, Harry and you know it!"

"I do know," Harry admitted, "But I also know that you wouldn't have gone back had you known I was only pretending. You would have stayed, knowing I posed no threat to you. If you feared me, you would leave and stay away. "

Damien had has teeth clenched and fists curled into balls.

"When are you going to get it through your thick, egotistical head that I'm not afraid of you?!" he asked. "I told you that two years ago! I don't fear you! I never will!"

Hermione turned to look at Ron, shifting awkwardly in her seat. The occupants of the room were growing uncomfortable, caught amongst the fight between the brothers. The two boys, however, didn't notice.

"I don't want you to fear me." Harry defended.

"Is that why you attacked me?" Damien asked. "To scare me into running away?"

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped, making everyone shiver. Harry's eyes had darkened as he glared angrily at Damien.

"I attacked you because I had to!" Harry hissed from between clenched teeth. "It wasn't part of my plan. I hadn't considered the possibility that all of you would just cross dimensions and come here!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Damien mocked. "I'm sorry we came and ruined your little drama act!"

"Piss off, Damien," Harry yelled, now truly lost in his anger. "You can't understand why I did any of this!"

"Then make me understand, Harry!" Damien yelled. "Go on, explain why you felt it was necessary to risk your life by playing games with Voldemort! Or better yet, why were you risking our lives!"

"I didn't do anything to you!" Harry retorted, his eyes a dangerous poison green now.

Damien gaped at him.

"You cast the killing curse on me!" he reminded. "Was that part of your plan too? Did you just assume that I would move out of the way? Was it that important to you to mess with Voldemort that you decided it was okay to risk my life?!" Damien asked. Harry hadn't answered and stood with blazing eyes locked with Damien. "What if I didn't move out of the way in time?" Damien asked. "What if your killing curse had caught me? Then what?!" Damien raged. "It would be okay for you. So what if your brother died, as long as you got to make a fool out of Voldemort!"

No sooner were the words shouted out by Damien that Harry reacted. Harry's wand was drawn and pointed at Damien in the blink of an eye.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The curse left Harry's mouth before anyone fully realised what was happening.

"No!" fifteen year old Harry yelled, seeing the jet of green light zoom at Damien.

Sirius and James moved towards Damien but were too late. The green light hit Damien square in the chest. The boy was so shocked by the sudden attack, he couldn't move in time to avoid it. The killing curse impacted with Damien but left him still standing. The shocked occupants of the room watched as the boy was somehow miraculously still standing on his feet, looking very much alive.

Damien brought his hands to his chest; touching the spot the light had hit him. His fingers brushed over the Lahyoo Jisteen, still under his robes. Damien was confused; had the rare stone saved his life, again? He was certain the stone was no longer able to protect him. Voldemort's killing cure had been engulfed by the stone and thus rendered it useless. No, it couldn't be the stone; the Lahyoo Jisteen no longer worked. So how was it that he was still alive after being hit with another killing curse?

He looked at Harry, who had his wand lowered now and was staring at Damien, his eyes back to their usual green. Everyone was staring at Harry, puzzled as to how Damien had survived. But Harry had his gaze fixed only on Damien.

"You have to mean it, for it to work." Harry told him quietly.

Understanding hit home and Damien couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Without another word to anyone, Harry walked out of the room, leaving a stunned silence behind him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What do you think? More explanations will be given in the next chapter as well as a few more twists! Please review, Cheers!!


	43. More Explanations

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. Sorry for the long delay. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Forty Three**

James opened the drawer and rummaged through it for a moment before he spotted the small wooden box. He picked it up and walked back towards his wife and son. He placed the box next to Harry, who was sitting up on the desk, having refused to lie down on the bed.

"Hold still." Lily instructed as she brought the cotton wool soaked in antiseptic solution to Harry's forehead, cleaning the deep cut.

Harry winced but didn't move. James watched Lily clean and dress the wound before he turned back to the box and opened it. He picked out the pain relief potion and handed it to Harry.

Harry downed it instantly and handed the empty vial back to James.

"You do know that magic is a lot quicker?" Harry said to his mum as she continued fussing over the cut on his forehead.

Lily gave him a stern look before she finished securing the small bandage to his forehead.

"I prefer doing it this way." She said, pulling her hands away. "I'm not entirely sure of my Healing charms." She pulled the box nearer to her and picked out a fever reducing potion. She handed it to him. "You're burning up." She told Harry.

Harry didn't say anything but offered her a small smile before he swallowed the potion. He found it almost amusing how she told him something that he obviously already knew.

James silently pulled out the supplies he needed and turned to Harry.

"Take off your top." James instructed.

Harry looked at him, his expression blank.

"You're not fooling anyone," James said, "off." He motioned to his robes.

Resignedly, Harry unbuttoned his robes and carefully pulled them off. James saw the blood stain on Harry's white top as soon as the dark robes were taken off. Harry hesitated for a moment before he pulled at his top. He grimaced in pain as the cloth was stuck to the bleeding wound on his chest. He hissed in pain as he pulled at the top, peeling it away from himself. Lily moved towards him and as gently as she could, she helped him remove his top.

Lily sucked in a breath at the sight. There was a large burn on Harry's chest, stretching across his torso. It was awfully raw looking and was still bleeding. James knew, even when Harry was acting like he was fine, James knew he was hurting.

He remembered the way Voldemort's curse had caught Harry and he was thrown to the ground. He remembered the words hissed in anger just seconds before his curse had hit him, _'Those who play with fire, get burned!_'

James had guessed what hex Voldemort must have hit Harry with. For this reason, he wasn't surprised like Lily at the sight of the burn. James had already taken out the burns salve and had uncapped it. He moved in front of Harry, scooping out a copious amount. As gently as he could, James applied it to the burn. Harry flinched at first but then sat rigidly, now allowing any movement at all.

Lily watched nervously, seeing the look of pain intensify on her son's face. She wished he wasn't so stubborn and had allowed them to go to a proper Healer. She was still surprised that Poppy Pomfrey hadn't been considered as a member of the Order in this universe and so wasn't permitted in the Headquarters, not even to check on Harry. That left the two worried parents to heal their son.

"I still think we should go to the hospital," Lily said, looking anxiously at the burn. "Or at least go to see Poppy at Hogwarts. She should check you out."

But Harry shook his head, making an effort to keep his gaze fixed to the spot on the wall above James' head.

"It's fine. Just...just you fix it."

James looked up at Harry and saw the way he was deliberately avoiding looking down at the burn wound on his chest. James felt his heart clench tightly as he realised why. He himself had never recovered fully after watching Harry's childhood memories, especially the one of his four year old son being horrendously burned. The memory of how his child had been dragged over to the oven and the way his small hand had been held down and burned would never leave him.

James didn't say anything though and continued to cover the burn completely in the soothing balm. Once James was finished, Lily took over and dressed the wound. James watched as Harry finally lowered his gaze and took in the sight of the white bandages tightly wound over his torso.

"It looks much worse than it is." He said in a shaky voice, failing at his attempt to sound normal.

"Does it still hurt?" James asked quietly.

Harry quickly shook his head.

"No, the potion's working. I'm fine."

James put the medical kit to the side, for now. He looked carefully at Harry, trying to see if he was really okay or if he was hiding any other injuries.

"Were you okay at the Ministry?" James asked. "The Aurors, they didn't...do anything...did they?" James asked awkwardly.

"You mean did they lock me in a cell with Dementors to keep me company?" Harry asked. He shook his head. "Not this time. They were just happy to ignore me."

James and Lily looked at each other with relief.

"Did they interrogate you?" James asked already certain that they must have.

Harry pulled his top back on, noting it had been cleaned by a quick 'scourgify' no doubt by Lily.

"They did," Harry replied, "but it was fine. I had everything going exactly how I wanted it until Dumbledore came and ruined everything!" Harry said, pulling a face.

"How? What did he do?" Lily asked.

"What he always does! He stuck his crooked nose where it doesn't belong!" Harry spat. "He took credit for everything I had done! Twisted everything to look like it was his idea! He made it look like I was working for him!" Harry shook his head. "He wishes!" he muttered angrily.

"He was only trying to help, Harry." James consoled.

Harry huffed at him.

"Yeah, well, he totally stole my thunder!"

James smiled and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately.

"I'm sure you'll survive."

Harry pulled on his robes, ignoring James' comment.

"What was your plan?" James asked, making Harry stop midway. Confused emerald eyes looked up at him.

"My plan?"

"If Dumbledore didn't get involved, what were you planning on doing to get out of the Ministry?" James explained. He was curious.

Harry didn't respond, he looked away from James and continued pulling on his robes. James and Lily waited but Harry didn't answer.

"Harry?" Lily prompted.

"It doesn't matter," Harry quickly replied, not looking at either of them. "It's over now."

But James wasn't going to let Harry get away that easily.

"Harry, what was your plan?" he asked again. When Harry didn't answer James started getting annoyed. "You told me you had a plan! I heard your voice echo in my head as you were being arrested. You said not to get involved, not to stop the Aurors, to leave everything to you, you had a plan to get out. I trusted you and did what you said! I fought against my instinct and didn't stop the Aurors from arresting you. Now tell me what was your plan? How were you going to get out?"

Harry looked up at James and the father of two got his answer from Harry's expression alone.

"Harry!"

Harry smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair.

"I would have figured something out." He offered.

Lily looked equally shell shocked.

"You didn't have a plan?!" she asked. "How were you going to get out if Dumbledore didn't get involved?"

Harry made a face at the mention of Dumbledore but didn't say anything.

"Why would you lie to me?" James asked, obviously hurt.

"I didn't lie...I...I just didn't want you to get involved with the Aurors." Harry explained. "I knew you would fight with them and try to stop them from arresting me. The result would have been you sharing the cell next to mine. I didn't want you to get involved." Harry sighed and leaned back, resting against the wall. "I was working on a plan to get free."

"And what was that?" Lily enquired. "Making up things as you go along? That's not a plan!"

Harry chuckled and turned to his mum.

"It works for me." He joked. At seeing his mum's glare intensify, he quickly started explaining, "In all honestly, I was going to do what Dumbledore ended up doing. I was going to make it seem like I was with Voldemort just to spy on him. I had the letters in my handwriting to prove it."

"So, you and Dumbledore came up with a similar plan," James said, smirking now. "Wow, you know what they say; genius minds think alike!"

Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

"Since you're my father, I'll just ignore the fact that you compared me to Dumbledore." He said.

James smiled at his son and pushed his bangs away from his eyes.

"I appreciate it." He joked back. His fingers brushed against Harry's forehead and the smile slipped off James' face. He held his hand against the burning forehead. "The fever reducing potion should have worked." He said worriedly. "You're still burning up."

Harry held in his groan as Lily joined James and started fussing over him.

"Oh God, you're right!" Lily said. "Why are the potions not working?"

Both parents realised the answer at the same time. Lily had thought the fever was due to the horrendous injuries Harry had endured. But now she knew that the fever was due to the withdrawals Harry suffered every two months or so. Otherwise the potions would have worked.

Harry shifted uncomfortably and looked away from them.

"You're going through a withdrawal, aren't you?" Lily asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Harry didn't answer.

"Come on, get yourself into bed." James said, motioning for him get up.

"That's why!" Harry answered annoyed. "You always make such a fuss."

"We have to make a fuss," Lily said. "It's what parents do when their child is ill."

Harry glared at her.

"I'm not ill!" he argued. "It's just a little fever! Nothing's wrong with me!"

"It's not a _little_ fever!" Lily argued. "Look at you! Your eyes are bloodshot, you have a raging high temperature, you're shaking all over and you look like you desperately need to sleep!"

In protest, Harry folded his trembling hands across his chest, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain it caused and glared at her.

"I've had a rough few days. I'm tired, that's all."

Lily stilled, at least he was admitting he was tired, that was something.

"Well, why don't you lie down and have a rest, go to sleep." She suggested a lot calmer.

Harry's response was cut short when he felt a wetness suddenly start to seep out of his nose. Abruptly he leapt to his feet, a hand shooting to his face, trying hastily to hide the crimson fluid from his parents.

"I'll just be a minute," Harry started quickly, trying to walk around them and hurry to the bathroom. He should have known it was futile. His parents were never going to let Harry out of their sights.

At once, James and Lily blocked him, not allowing the boy to go anywhere.

"What is it, Harry?" James asked, his hand already wrapped around Harry's wrist, trying to lower it so he could see his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! It's nothing." Harry tried but James had managed to pry his hand away from his face to reveal the nosebleed. "It's not what you think!" Harry hurried to explain as he saw the colour rapidly leave his parents faces. "This happens sometimes during a withdrawal. It's normal."

James had wordlessly guided Harry back to the desk and gently pushed him to sit back down. His fingers pulled at Harry's chin, carefully tilting his face upwards so he could examine him properly. Lily was by his side, looking on with worry.

"It's happened before?" Lily asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "This is actually a good sign. It means the addiction is coming to an end. Another six months or so and it'll all be over." Harry explained.

James let go of him and turned to grab a tissue. He handed it to Harry who quickly wiped at his face. He looked up to see both James and Lily staring at him with concern.

"Really, I'm fine. Stop looking at me like I'm dying." Harry admonished.

Lily shook her head, muttering something that sounded like, 'Merlin forbid!' and moved towards him, checking all stains of blood were gone.

"I've never seen your nose bleed during a withdrawal before." Lily muttered.

Harry was about to say that the reason was because he always hid his nosebleeds from her but then thought better of it. He didn't want to get her mad again.

"Did it just start?" James asked, "The withdrawal." He hoped it had. He hated the thought of Harry falling ill while still at the Ministry with those Aurors, interrogating him...

Harry shifted his eyes to the ground again and muttered something.

"Didn't get that." Lily said.

Harry sighed and looked up at them.

"It started yesterday," he admitted, "before I arrived at the Ministry."

James and Lily just stared at Harry, not quite believing it. How could Harry have done all he did while suffering a withdrawal? Usually, during the three days of his withdrawal, Harry was so ill he could barely stand upright. So how could he have fought the Aurors at the Ministry and duelled so well? It wasn't possible.

As if reading their thoughts, Harry started explaining.

"I felt the start of the withdrawal shortly before I was supposed to lead the Death Eaters to the Ministry. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything if I fell ill so...I..." he shifted and avoided looking at both his parents, "...I did the Moratus charm, so I would be able to focus, and finish what I had planned."

Lily looked confused; she didn't know what the Moratus charm was and how it worked. James however knew exactly what it was, and he wasn't happy.

"You did what?!" he exclaimed.

"What? What did he do?" Lily asked, feeling her heart quicken with dread.

James turned to her.

"The Moratus charm is used to slow down or delay the body's reaction when it's being weakened." He explained in a rush. "It's usually done to postpone the effects of being ill. Quidditch players are usually the guiltiest culprits. They have been known to use the charm if they are unwell, especially before World Cup games."

Lily nodded her head, failing to see why James was so upset. So Harry had delayed the effects of the withdrawal? What was the problem?

"Is that bad?" she asked.

James turned to Harry, seeing him squirm with discomfort.

"Do you want to explain to your mother?" he asked crossly.

Harry didn't really want to, but he figured he should. His dad was going to make this next part sound worse than it really was.

"Nothing comes without a price," he started, "and especially this charm." Harry took in a breath before he launched into the details. "Because the Moratus charm delays the effects of an illness it causes a..._negative_ effect, so to speak." He ignored James' snort and continued. "By postponing the illness or in my case the withdrawal, it means that once the charm wears off the effects of the withdrawal are much more intense than normal. That's the price you have to pay if you use the charm; you get one more day, free from any illness or withdrawal but once the charm wears off, you suffer more, and for longer, than you would normally."

Lily gaped at him, too horrified to speak. James shook his head at Harry.

"Why would you cast the charm, Harry? You know how horribly ill you get when you go through a withdrawal; potions don't work on you, you get a dangerously high fever, you can't keep anything down and now you're getting nosebleeds too!" James counted on his fingers irately. "And all of this is going to get much worse because of the charm! Why did you do it?"

"I didn't have a choice," Harry shrugged, "I had to have my wits about me if I was going to pull this off and I couldn't afford to get ill."

"You could have postponed the raid." James said. "As much as I loathe the idea of you spending any more time with Voldemort than you already have, I would much rather you spent another three, four days with him than suffer what you're about to!"

Harry shook his head.

"I couldn't postpone it." He answered simply.

"Why not?" Lily asked.

"Because I had already delivered Peter to Madame Bones." Harry replied. James and Lily both fell silent at once, "I had to end things that same night otherwise Voldemort would have learned Peter was missing and my entire plan would have failed." He looked up at them. "I couldn't fail, I had to do this." He explained, hoping they would understand how desperate he was.

James brought a hand to Harry's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.

"What you did for Sirius," James started. "I couldn't thank you enough..."

"You don't have to," Harry interrupted quickly. "Whatever I did, I did for myself, not for anyone else, not even Sirius." He said quietly. "So you don't have to thank me."

James was confused. He opened his mouth to ask Harry what he meant but Harry suddenly stood up.

"The charm is still partly in place. It takes time to fade." He said. "I think we should head back home before it wears off completely and I get really ill."

James nodded his head, allowing the change in topic for now.

"Agreed," he said, "We shouldn't really be in this universe for too long anyway. It's been four days already." James said.

A knock on the door caught their attention and Lily hurried over to answer it. She opened the door to reveal the fifteen year old Harry, standing at the threshold.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." The fifteen year old started.

"Don't be silly, Harry." Lily responded. "Come inside."

Harry walked into the room, letting Lily close to the door behind him. He faced James and his older counterpart.

"I know that you must have a lot of catching up to do," fifteen year old Harry started, "but I just wanted a quick minute to ask you something."

Lily had walked over to him and wrapped an arm around him, like she usually did.

"Sure, honey. What's wrong?" she asked.

The fifteen year old chanced a glance at his older counterpart, curious as to how he would react to seeing his parents being so loving to someone else. He knew it used to bother Damien, he wondered if Harry would feel the same. But his counterpart didn't seem to mind it. He even had a small smile on his face. Harry felt himself smile too.

"Mrs Weasley wants to throw a party...dinner-type thing tonight." The younger Harry started. "It's for everything that's happened; for Sirius being pardoned and for you both being here again and...everything." He cleared his throat nervously. "I know that you've been here for four days already and you probably want to go home but I...I was wondering if you could...stay, just one more night?" he was looking directly at James as he made his request. "It's been four days and the universe is still intact. One more day wouldn't do any harm." He added with a small hesitant smile. "So, could you stay, just for tonight, for the dinner?"

James felt his heart tear as the words came from the fifteen year old. He wanted to stay, he really did. He didn't want to leave _this_ Harry all alone, again. But he didn't have a choice. He had to leave at some point and go back. He turned slightly and glanced at his eighteen year old Harry, taking in the look of fatigue on his handsome face and the way his eyes were still bloodshot. He had to take his son home, he was heading for a really hard and painful time and it was best if he was home, in his own world, his own universe, so he would be more comfortable.

James looked back at the fifteen year old, his eyes brushing past him to glance at Lily who looked just as heartbroken as he felt.

"Harry, I wish we could," James started, taking a step towards him. "We would love to stay, but..."

"We'll stay," eighteen year old Harry stepped up next to James and answered his younger counterpart.

James turned to stare at the older boy.

"Harry, we can't..."

"One more night isn't going to do any harm." The eighteen year old replied, giving his dad a reassuring look. "We can leave first thing in the morning. It'll be fine," he stressed, knowing his dad would read that statement as 'I'm fine, so we can do this'.

James looked set to argue but Harry looked away from him and focused on his fifteen year old self.

"We'll be staying for tonight." He confirmed.

The fifteen year old looked past him to his dad, wanting to be told by him. James shared a look with Lily, seeing her nod her head in a gesture to stay she wanted to stay too, before he turned to the fifteen year old.

"Okay," he said, "we'll stay."

The grin that spread on the fifteen year olds' face was impossible.

"Great! I'll just go tell Mrs Weasley!" he said and rushed out of the room.

James and Lily turned to Harry, concern etched in every line of their faces.

"Are you sure about this?" James asked.

Harry smiled back and shrugged.

"It's only one more night," he replied. "It's not going to kill me."

xxx

Fifteen year old Harry found Sirius standing alone in the room, staring at the family tree decorated on a very large and old tapestry. Harry knocked once on the open door, snapping Sirius out of his thoughts. The dark haired man smiled at Harry and gestured for him to come in. Harry walked over to his godfather and let the man drape an arm around his shoulder. With his other hand he lazily gestured to the tapestry.

"I never thought I would finally get away from here." he said quietly. "When I first left home, I swore I would never come back to this place." His face clouded with pain. "But after I escaped from Azkaban I realised I had no choice but to stay here." His eyes roamed the room and settled on the tapestry. He reached out and touched the back burn that used to be his name. "God, I hate this place so much." He said, letting his hand drop. "It feels so good to be able to turn my back on it and never return. Well, except for Order meetings."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked completely confused.

Sirius turned to him smiling, a smile that reached his eyes.

"I'm giving the manor to Dumbledore so he can continue using it as the Headquarters. I had already given him it but now that I'm not going to stay here, its sole purpose will be as the Headquarters."

"You're moving?" Harry asked. "When did you decide this?"

"About three seconds after I read my pardon letter." Sirius grinned.

"Wow," Harry couldn't help but grin too, "so any ideas where you want to move?" he asked as he and Sirius both headed out the room, towards the living room.

"Well, I haven't thought about it in that much detail." Sirius answered. "I don't need a very big place; just around thirty rooms should do it."

Harry laughed, thinking Sirius was joking but when the dark haired man looked around at him with a puzzled expression, Harry's laugh died away.

"You're joking, right?" he asked.

"What's funny about a thirty room manor?" Sirius asked genuinely.

Harry gaped at him.

"What are you going to do with _thirty_ rooms?" Harry asked.

Sirius shrugged.

"I don't know," Sirius answered, "just...normal stuff."

Harry shook his head.

"You don't even know why you want such a big place, you just want one."

"But a thirty room manor is pretty small compared to other manors." Sirius explained.

"You don't need a manor," Harry pointed out, "a one or maybe two bedroom house will be enough for you."

But Sirius shook his head at the suggestion.

"Don't be silly. We need a room each for a start and then a few guest bedrooms in case our friends want to stay over and..."

"What?" Harry asked, stopping in his tracks.

Sirius stopped as well, facing Harry.

"The offer still stands," Sirius said quietly, referring to that day two years ago, in the shrieking shack, "if you want to, you can live with me."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. He could live with Sirius.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. He didn't want Sirius to feel like he had to take him in. He wanted Sirius to _want_ to live with him.

"Of course I'm sure," Sirius said, ruffling Harry's messy locks. "I have a chance to do what I should have done; look after you. I'm not giving that up." his smile slipped off his face again before he added, "that is, if you still want to stay with me. Because if you've changed your mind then I totally understand..."

"Sirius," Harry interrupted. "I've already mentally picked out my room's colours!"

A look of relief broke over Sirius' face and he laughed, clapping a hand affectionately on Harry's shoulder.

"Cool," he said, smiling broadly, "which colours?" he asked.

"Red and gold, of course." Harry grinned.

"Gryffindor colours, nice!" Sirius commented.

"Maybe a dash of green too," Harry added mischievously, "you know, just to mix everything up!"

Sirius narrowed his eyes playfully at him.

"Hmm, fine. I'll just tell anyone who asks that you wanted to match your eyes."

Both laughed and started walking down the corridor, heading to the living room.

"So, what kind of place are you thinking about?" Harry asked, with renewed interest as they were discussing _his_ new home.

"I'm still stuck on my thirty room manor idea." Sirius answered. "I'm not living in any place other than a manor." He said.

"I didn't know you were so stuck up!" Harry teased.

Sirius smiled again.

"Must be the Black blood in me!" he joked, perfectly aware of the double meaning. "To be honest, I don't care how many rooms there are. I just want acres of land around it." He grinned widely again. "You know how much Padfoot likes his space to run around." He winked, grinning widely. "You will have to help me choose a place." he chuckled, excitedly.

"Done!" Harry answered enthusiastically.

Both were smiling as they walked into the living room. They saw James sitting at the table with Remus. Sirius suddenly went quiet and stared at his friend. Harry sensed the awkwardness that suddenly appeared on his godfather and without a word he slipped out of the room, giving the three friends privacy.

James looked around at Sirius and greeted him as he did normally.

"Hey Padfoot."

Sirius walked over to the table and sat down, facing his best friend's counterpart.

"How's Harry? Is he okay?" he asked firstly.

James' expression darkened and he slowly shook his head.

"He's okay, _for now_," he muttered, "He needed some medical attention but Lily and I managed, just about."

"I'm so sorry that Madame Pomfrey isn't allowed to come here." Sirius said, "I only realised now that we have no one in the Order with Healer abilities." He looked at James. "We can go to St Mungos if you want? Get him checked out properly."

But James shook his head.

"He won't go. That boy of mine is as stubborn as they come." He sighed.

Remus smirked at James.

"He's just like his father then, huh?" he asked.

James snapped up his head to look at Remus suddenly. But then he realised Remus was referring to him and not Voldemort. He relaxed and tried to hide his reaction.

"Yeah, totally!" he laughed awkwardly.

Remus noticed the strange reaction but before he could say anything, Sirius interrupted.

"James, I wanted to apologise to you." He started.

James' hazel eyes clouded with confusion.

"For what?" he asked.

"For all those things I said to you earlier on." Sirius answered. "I shouldn't have accused you of not caring for Harry. I'm sorry."

James brushed the apology aside.

"It's fine. You didn't know what was going on."

Sirius smiled at him, visibly relieved.

"I forgot how quick you were to forgive." He said, "Moony-moody pants here holds grudges forever!" he said, pointing at Remus.

"That's because you never learn!" Remus answered back.

James ignored his friends and took off his glasses, rubbing at his tired eyes.

"Is he okay?" James looked up at Remus' question. "Harry, is he okay?"

"Why are you asking?" James asked as he put his glasses back on. He had just told them that Harry was okay.

"It's pretty obvious from the look of worry on your face," Remus answered, "You keep looking at the door, as if you want to go back upstairs."

James shook his head.

"I shouldn't go back to him. He needs to rest and sleep."

"What's wrong with him?" Sirius asked, realising at this point that this other Harry may be suffering from more than just a few scratches and exhaustion.

James looked down at his hands uncomfortably. It wasn't so easy to explain exactly what was wrong with his son. He took a minute to sort out his thoughts.

"He never got over it," he said quietly. He looked up to see confused expressions on his best friends, "killing Voldemort; Harry never got over it." James explained, earning stunned reactions from the other two. "The way it happened...Harry never really thought about what he was doing. He reacted purely because of what he thought had happened to Damien." James continued to explain. "Harry killed Voldemort because he thought Voldemort had killed Damien. It was a moment, just one moment of pure unadulterated rage of Harry's that killed Voldemort." James quietened down, his eyes focused back on his own hands. "Harry never recovered fully from it. All of last year, he struggled to come to terms with what he had done but he couldn't. It started affecting his sleep. He started having nightmares and it got to such a stage that he couldn't sleep, not even for a moment, without the help of sleeping potions."

Remus suddenly stiffened, his eyes widening in both realisation and horror. Next to him, Sirius also reacted, closing his eyes and shaking his head slowly.

"He overdosed?" Remus asked.

"No," James answered, in a quiet, sorrowful voice. "Harry was too clever to overdose. He knew when to take the required breaks and even if it meant he had to make do with no sleep for weeks on end, he did it to avoid addiction." Remus and Sirius looked confused, but they didn't interrupt. "But what Harry didn't know was that his drinks were regularly being spiked with another type of sleeping potion. He overdosed and became addicted to sleeping potion."

Remus and Sirius looked surprised at that.

"His drinks were spiked?" Sirius asked, horrified. "Who was spiking them?"

"One of the kids in Hogwarts." James replied. "It's complicated and I don't want to get into it." James sighed. "But the main thing is; Harry's in phase one of potion addiction. His withdrawals take a lot out of him and he's suffering from one just now."

Both Remus and Sirius looked up at the ceiling, almost as if they could see Harry and how he was, by raising their eyes to the roof. They looked back at the tired man sitting before them.

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Remus asked.

James shook his head sadly.

"Nothing works when he's in a withdrawal. No potions take any effect, he can't stomach any food and I've just learnt that he's been having nosebleeds during the last few withdrawals." James rubbed at his head in quiet frustration. He hated how helpless he was when it came to helping Harry.

Sirius let out a sudden noise, making the other two men look over at him.

"That makes sense!" he exclaimed. "I was wondering what had made him so ill."

James straightened up in his seat.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"About three months back, near Christmas, Harry suddenly took ill." Sirius explained. "He had an awful fever and couldn't keep anything down. At first I thought it was just a cold but he kept getting these nosebleeds. They kind of freaked me out. I wanted him to go to St Mungos but Harry wouldn't go. I guess he was scared they might find out he has an addiction. He was trying to keep his cover."

James knew what Harry got like when he was in a withdrawal. No matter how ill he was or how much pain he was in, Harry never accepted any help and he would never agree to get help from the hospital. Poppy was the only professional help he accepted and even that had to be forced on him.

"The withdrawals usually come every two to three months." James explained. "Harry's been here almost seven months. He was bound to get them while he was here." He looked up at Sirius. "Thank you, Sirius, for looking after him." he said sincerely.

Sirius looked caught off with the sudden, genuine gratitude.

"It was nothing, James. You don't have to thank me." He responded quickly.

James kept his eyes on his friend.

"You looked after my son when I wasn't able to, for that I should thank you." He looked at both his friends. "I would hope that you both would always look after my son, especially when I'm not there to do so myself." He knew his friends would understand which Harry he was referring to. He watched as Remus nodded easily but Sirius' expression changed and guilt shadowed his features. Nevertheless, he looked up to match James' gaze.

"I'll always look after Harry." He promised. "I made a mistake and paid for it with twelve years of my life." He said. "I'll spend the rest of my years trying to make it up to my godson."

James smiled.

"I know you will."

Remus leaned forward a little.

"Prongs, when are you going back?" he asked quietly.

"Initially, it was supposed to be today." James answered. "But we'll be staying tonight, for the dinner. We'll probably go back tomorrow morning."

For a moment, both Remus and Sirius looked saddened, but they forced smiles on their faces as they turned to James.

"Well, I guess we have to make tonight count!" Sirius grinned, making James and Remus smile as well.

xxx

Fifteen year old Harry took in his surroundings with a quiet, happy sigh. The aroma of delicious cooking had filled the house; his mum was helping Mrs Weasley prepare about ten different dishes in the kitchen. The busy chattering of Remus, James and Sirius with Kingsley, Moody and various other Order members was in the background as he sat with his friends, Ron and Hermione. Ginny was upstairs with Damien, talking to him.

Harry felt his heart leap uncomfortably at the thought of Damien. The boy had confined himself to his room and didn't want to speak to anyone, not even his parents who had tried to talk to him. That however didn't stop Ginny and she marched upstairs to speak to him a half hour ago.

Harry looked up at the ceiling, perhaps he should go to speak to him? He wasn't sure if Damien would respond to him or not. After all, he had taken a long time connecting to him in his world. But lately they had become close, hadn't they? So would he listen to him? Harry decided he would find out.

He got up from his seat and hurried to the door. He had reached the second floor when he heard Ginny and Damien's voices drift into the hallway. He walked over to Damien's door but hesitated at the last moment to go inside. It sounded like Ginny and Damien were in the middle of a heated debate. Harry wondered if he could potentially make matters worse by trying to talk to Damien. But he had to try at least, shouldn't he?

Just as Harry raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard the stairs creak slightly behind him. Looking over at the stairs he saw his counterpart walking down. He stopped at the sight of him. For a moment, both boys just stared at each other.

"Hi." The fifteen year old greeted his counterpart.

The eighteen year old took the last few steps down so he came to rest on the landing.

"Hey." He replied.

"I thought you were sleeping." The younger Harry said.

"I couldn't sleep." His counterpart answered simply, "and I'm not one to lie around in bed if I'm awake."

Fifteen year old Harry could understand that. He couldn't do that either.

"Are you okay?" the younger boy asked, his eyes lingering on the white dressing adorning his counterpart's forehead. "I didn't mean to hit you, that hard I mean." He said awkwardly.

The eighteen year old couldn't help but smirk at the guilt his other self was displaying.

"I must admit, I wasn't expecting that from you." He replied as he walked further towards him. "For someone so small, you pack a heavy blow."

The younger Harry wasn't sure if he was being praised or humiliated.

"I don't know how to take that." He honestly told him.

The older Harry smiled this time.

"It's a compliment." He assured him.

The younger Harry was about to say something when he heard the faint sound of the front door opening and the sound of footsteps walking inside. The older Harry listened as well, moving towards the barrister, peering over it to see who had come to the Headquarters. He couldn't see who it was. They head another door creaking open and then,

"Oh my God!" someone screamed and the sound of rushing footsteps were heard and several voices started talking at the same time.

"FILTHY BLOOD TRAITORS! TAINTING MY HOME!" Mrs Black's voice screamed loudly, covering the other voices.

Both Harrys just looked at each other in half amusement and half curiosity.

"Shall we?" the younger Harry asked, gesturing downstairs.

The older Harry looked indecisive for a moment before he nodded his head.

"What the hell." He said with a smirk and both of them started making their way downstairs to see what was going on.

xxx

As soon as both Harrys walked down the stairs onto the ground level, they saw the reason for all the commotion. Mrs Weasley was standing by the front door, hugging a red haired girl and loudly thanking 'Merlin' she was alright. Her voice had upset the portrait of Mrs Black and she was screaming abuse at all of them. Two Order members were in the process of shutting her up. Just inside the door, was a very big shape, belonging to Hagrid. He was loudly apologising to Mrs Weasley but she wasn't paying him much attention. Even both Harrys' focus was on the red haired girl. They recognised her even before she was released from the smothering embrace.

"Ginny?" the younger Harry whispered as the fourteen year old girl fought her way out of her mum's hold.

"For goodness sake mum! I'm fine!" she was in the middle of exclaiming when her eyes fell on both boys standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her brown eyes got very large, very quickly and she stood staring from one Harry to the other. Her unblinking stare and gobsmacked expression was making both Harrys want to laugh but they both settled for identical grins.

"Hi Ginny!" the older Harry waved, snapping Ginny out of her stare.

"I...what...what's going...on?" Ginny mumbled, turning to her mum.

Before Mrs Weasley could provide an answer, the seventeen year old Ginny walked down the stairs, appearing behind the two Harrys. She stopped short at the sight before her.

The younger Ginny just stared at her older self in complete shock. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes got even larger.

The seventeen year old Ginny grinned at the sight of her younger self.

"Oh my," she smirked. "This is...interesting." she mused.

"Ginny, honey, come into the kitchen and I'll explain everything." Mrs Weasley ushered the shell shocked girl further down the hall and into the kitchen. Hagrid followed behind them, still uttering apologies.

Both Harrys turned to look at the older Ginny standing behind them as Mrs Weasley disappeared into the kitchen with the younger Ginny, Hagrid and the two Order members.

"I can't believe how weird that was!" she laughed.

The younger Harry hurried down the remaining stairs, heading towards the kitchen.

"I should go and help explain." He smiled.

He felt strangely happy to see _his_ Ginny again. He wanted to go and meet her properly and help Mrs Weasley explain what was going on. He hurried into the kitchen, leaving the other Harry and Ginny alone in the hallway.

The boyfriend and girlfriend turned to face each other.

"What were you doing upstairs?" Harry asked, surprised that she had appeared behind him.

"Oh, I was...I wanted to...change my clothes." Ginny said. Then noticing Harry's stare she realised she was wearing the same clothes he had last seen her in. "but when I got upstairs I realised that I didn't need to change so I...didn't bother...to change." She explained uncomfortably.

Harry just looked at her, before his eyes scanned the floor above them.

"He didn't listen to you, did he?" he asked quietly, referring to Damien.

Ginny gave Harry a comforting look.

"He's just confused and a little angry but mostly just confused." Ginny replied. "He'll calm down, Harry. It's Damy, how long can he stay mad at you?" she smiled.

But Harry looked back at the floor above them and let out a breath. He knew Damien could hold a grudge, almost as bad as himself.

xxx

Both Harry and Ginny sat on the stone steps leading to 12 Grimmauld place. It was fast approaching dusk and the chilly March air was making Ginny scoot closer and closer to Harry. The boy smiled as Ginny pressed against him, shivering a little. He wrapped a warm arm around her and allowed her to snuggle herself closer to him.

"We can go inside if you're cold." He offered.

Ginny shook her head.

"No, it's okay. It's nice out here." She replied.

She knew Harry liked to sit outside in the open. She also knew how much Harry hated the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He couldn't stay inside for long so they decided to sit outside on the steps, until they _had_ to go inside to have dinner.

Ginny stayed next to Harry, her arms draped around Harry's waist and her head rested on him. The street was deserted so it was only the two of them, sitting quietly.

"I missed you." Harry said quietly, surprising Ginny.

She lifted her head to look at him. She had missed him terribly too but where she had been continuously telling him so in every phone conversation, Harry had never told her the same. She smiled and rested her head back on shoulder.

"What did you miss the most?" she asked quietly.

She felt Harry tighten the hold around her waist and her heart skipped a beat.

"This," he replied, "I missed this."

Ginny looked around at him again.

"Just sitting? You missed me sitting next to you?"

Harry grinned, his trademark smirk slowly spreading on his lips, a playful glint shining in his emerald eyes.

"Well, not just this," he replied, "I missed all the other stuff we did too."

Ginny tried giving him a stern look but she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She faked.

Harry turned so he was facing her properly.

"I guess I'll have to explain it properly to you then." He whispered as he leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss.

Ginny responded at once, returning the kiss. She loved the feeling of Harry's lips on hers and she moved even closer to him, to get a good angle.

The door opened behind them and a loud exclamation broke apart the kiss. Ginny snapped her head around to see to her horror, Lily Potter standing at the threshold. Her emerald eyes, so much like her sons, were fixed on Ginny who was almost sitting in Harry's lap. As quickly as she could, Ginny scooted away from Harry, getting a good distance between them.

Harry, for his part looked more annoyed than embarrassed. He glared up at his mum. Lily cleared her throat and turned to yell back inside the house.

"It's okay! Harry's right here!"

At once Mrs Black's horrid yells started, making Lily wince. She ignored that for now and fixe her son with a glare.

"Why are you sitting out here in the cold? Do you want to make yourself worse?" she asked.

"I needed some fresh air." Harry answered, not fazed by her scolding.

"You should at least tell someone where you're going." Lily said. "Your dad nearly had a breakdown when he didn't see you in your room. He was about to get together a search party and go looking for you."

Harry's look of annoyance grew.

"Well, I'm right here so there's no need." He tersely answered.

"Come inside, it's too chilly for you to be outdoors." Lily commanded.

"I'll be right there." He replied, giving her a pointed look.

Lily understood he wanted her to go back inside and give him and Ginny their privacy. She glanced over at Ginny to see the girl almost as red as her hair and avoiding eye contact with her. With a last stern look at Harry, she disappeared back inside the house, closing the door.

Harry looked over at Ginny to see the blush on her face and neck. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. With a groan, Ginny dropped her head into her hands, shaking it slowly.

"Why does this always happen to me?" she asked more herself than him. Harry had moved over to her and gently pried her fingers away from her face. "Your mum hates me." Ginny moaned.

"What?" Harry laughed. "No she doesn't."

Ginny looked up at him.

"Every time she walks in on us, I'm all over you." She blushed harder. "She probably considers me a girl of bad character." She bit her lip, shaking her head.

Harry leaned forward and kissed her again. When he pulled back Ginny looked marginally better and was staring at him.

"It's okay, I like bad girls." He grinned.

Ginny pushed him away.

"I'm serious, Harry. Your mum probably thinks very little of me."

Harry smiled at her and took her hand.

"Just relax, Ginny. My mum knows what you're like. And besides, she knows we've been apart for seven months. What does she expect to see when she walks in on us unannounced?"

"I guess." She said moodily. "I still wish Mrs Potter didn't see that though. It doesn't make me look so good."

"It's fine, even if she doesn't like you, it doesn't bother me." Harry said, making Ginny scowl at him. "I mean what kind of mother-in-law would she be if she actually liked you?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I..." Ginny stopped suddenly and looked up at Harry. "What did you say?"

Harry, who just realised what he had said, looked up at her with surprised wide eyes.

"Nothing." He quickly answered.

"You...you just made a marriage reference." Ginny said.

"No I didn't!" Harry objected at once.

"Yes you did! You just referred to your mum as my mother-in-law." Ginny replied.

She looked down at his hand, still holding onto hers. Seeing where his girlfriends gaze was focused, Harry too looked down and quickly let go of her hand.

"I didn't mean anything by it." He said.

Ginny was looking at Harry with very wide eyes.

"Harry, you know that I love you. Merlin, I love you more than I love anyone in this world, but...I'm...I'm not ready to...to marry you. I'm only seventeen!" she tried to explain.

Harry shook his head.

"I know that. I wasn't asking you to marry me."

"I mean, my mum would kill me!" Ginny was still explaining.

"Really, Ginny," Harry said, "I wasn't asking you to marry me. It just came out all wrong. I really don't want to marry you." He explained.

"Oh, okay, good." Ginny breathed out. She looked relieved until what Harry said made total sense to her. She turned to look at him firmly. "Wait, you don't want to marry me now or you don't want to marry me at all?"

"It's not something I've thought about." Harry replied, uncomfortably.

Ginny turned to face him properly.

"We're too young to get married right now but you would want to marry me when we're older, right?"

"I...I don't know." Harry replied.

"Because I really love you and I know you love me so we _should_ get married, right?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny," Harry started, smiling uncomfortably, "Being held in a cell guarded by Dementors and being tortured by Aurors is less painful than this."

Ginny made a face but before she could say anymore, behind them the door opened again. Ginny quickly turned around, scared that Lily had come back to check on them. She saw who was at the door and turned back to Harry.

"Talking about things that are painful, here comes Hermione." She whispered to Harry.

Harry turned to see the brown haired girl standing at the threshold.

"Sorry to interrupt." Hermione said.

"Not at all, Hermione," Ginny stood up, giving Harry a quick pat on the knee. "We were just heading inside." She gave Harry a sympathetic glance before hurrying inside, closing the door behind her.

Harry stood up but made no move to go inside. Hermione moved a step towards him but came no nearer. An awkward and very uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Harry leaned against the black metal railings, not because he was trying to look relaxed but because his legs couldn't support him very well. The moratus charm was slowly withering away leaving Harry to feel the aches and pains of his body from battling his horrendous withdrawal. He crossed his arms against his chest to steady himself.

With tremendous effort he looked up at Hermione. His guilt was such though, he couldn't look her in the eyes.

"For a moment there, I thought you weren't going to look at me at all." Hermione said, quietly.

"I know you want an apology," Harry said, "and for what I did to you, I truly am sorry."

Hermione didn't respond and for long minutes she simply stared at Harry. When she spoke, her voice was calm and devoid of any anger or hurt.

"I knew something was wrong about your attack on me. At first I thought it was just disbelief; I couldn't believe my friend had threatened and humiliated me like that." Harry bristled and his gaze dropped to the ground. "The more I thought about it, the more confused I got." Hermione continued. "I knew there was something about the attack that just didn't make sense. I kept thinking about it and it was only when I went through what had happened in my head for the tenth time did I realise what was wrong."

Harry looked back up at her in curiosity. He had wanted to know how she had worked out his act, but he didn't have the courage to ask her.

"Do you remember what you had planned to teach the DA after we came back from the holiday break?" she asked.

"Wandless magic." He answered at once.

Hermione smiled and nodded.

"We never got a chance, what with the DA breaking up after Professor Dumbledore got in trouble." She said. "Over the Christmas holidays I had taken it upon myself to learn all I can about wandless magic. I checked out a few books and took them with me, to study. I wanted to be ready for your practical lessons." She looked at him carefully when she next spoke. "One of the things I learned from my study was that spells that could be performed wandlessly were usually ones that could be performed non verbally too. Only spells that require very little wand movement can be performed wandlessly and so can be non verbal."

A look of understanding flashed on Harry's face and he couldn't help but smile a little at his highly intuitive and intelligent friend. Hermione smiled too as she continued her explanation.

"You said your spell out loud when you didn't have to. When you collapsed that bookshelf behind me you said the incantation out loud so I could hear it. Being a wandless spell, it doesn't require much wand movement; so it something I could easily replicate." Her eyes locked with Harry's. "You said the spell out loud so I could copy it. You wanted me to hear it and use the same spell to get away from you. That was what was bothering me. I was too panicked to realise it but once I calmed down I saw that it was what didn't make any sense. Why would you give me a way out like that? Why would you only use spells we had learned in the DA like stupefy and fireballs, when attacking Ron. Seeing your history, I know you have more spells than that at your disposal. That's how I figured out it all must be an act."

Harry had to admit he was impressed with how much Hermione had picked up on him and his actions.

"You seem to have put a lot thought into this." He said.

Hermione shrugged.

"I had nothing to do other than think about what happened," she answered, "but no matter how much I try and work this out, I can't figure out _why_ you attacked me. Was it just so I could deliver a message to the Order? And if so, then why couldn't you have just come to me, like you did to Mr Potter and Ginny and just ask me to tell the Order about the attack planned that night on the Ministry. I could have just pretended that you attacked me. You didn't have to do it for real."

Harry shook his head at Hermione.

"It wasn't just about delivering a message. I admit, I wanted you to relay back the information that something big was planned for that night and hopefully the Order would figure out the Prophecy was targeted. But I needed you to believe I was there to hurt you. When you told others about what I nearly did to you, you had to have that fear present in your eyes. It wouldn't have worked otherwise."

"What wouldn't have worked?" Hermione asked.

"My plan to clear Harry's name," Harry answered. Hermione went silent. She wasn't expecting that. "I saw that report in the Daily Prophet the morning after the Diagon Alley raid." Harry explained quietly. "I wasn't supposed to show myself at that raid. It wasn't planned for me or Voldemort to show ourselves." Harry's expression changed and Hermione saw the flicker of fear sparkle in his eyes. "But I saw my dad in the middle of Diagon Alley, fighting with her and I panicked. I saw Damien with Ginny and Harry in the midst of Death Eaters and I didn't know what to do. I was afraid they would get hurt and without really thinking, I ran into the battle and stopped the other Death Eaters from targeting any of them." He looked up at Hermione and held her gaze. "Because of me and what I did in Diagon Alley, Harry had a warrant against his name and I knew once Fudge got him he wouldn't let him go. I needed to clear his name and for that to happen, I needed him to be in the Ministry of Magic, fighting against Voldemort when the Aurors arrived."

"So Harry was right," Hermione said, "the attack on me was really because of him."

Harry looked abashed but held Hermione's gaze.

"It's a strange feeling," he admitted, "when someone you love is targeted because of you. There's nothing quite as frustrating, quite as terrifying." Hermione caught the fleeting glimpse of an emotion flicker on Harry's face as he spoke. "You'd do anything you can to keep your loved ones safe. Even if it means you go against anything and everything." His tone changed and he was once again hiding behind his usual mask. "I knew my dad would try to stop Harry from going to the Ministry. I didn't know what Dumbledore would want but I guessed he might tell Harry to stay away too. But I needed him there and for that I used you. If he believed you were nearly hurt, he would try to stop Voldemort, before anyone else got hurt. That's why I attacked you and scared you, so Harry would force himself to come to the Ministry and fight against Voldemort."

Hermione didn't say anything right away. She honestly couldn't find the right words. She glanced back at Harry.

"Harry told me his warrant was withdrawn, even before the Aurors arrived back at the Ministry and saw Voldemort."

This time Harry smiled.

"That was just a lucky coincidence." He replied. "When Madame Bones got all the information from Ginny she realised that Harry wasn't involved with Voldemort. She gave the order to withdraw his warrant."

Hermione gave a mental sigh of relief. She had been awfully worried about her friend being arrested. She looked back at the exhausted looking boy in front of her.

"You went through all that and scared me half to death and it wasn't even needed." She said, light heartedly.

Harry looked at her carefully and saw the faint smirk on her face.

"Just my luck." He replied.

The door opened again and the seventeen year old Ginny appeared.

"Harry, your mum's getting really annoyed now. She wants you inside right now."

Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

"Are you trying to get in her good books now?" he asked.

Ginny grinned at him.

"A girl's got to do what she's got to do." She replied. "But seriously, come inside, it's freezing out here."

Harry nodded at her. Ginny disappeared back inside, leaving Hermione and Harry alone again.

Harry moved away from the support of the railings, fighting to stay upright. The charm hadn't completely worn off yet and it allowed him to gracefully stand on his feet. He stared at Hermione.

"I did what I had to, Hermione," he said, "but that doesn't mean it wasn't hard."

Hermione smiled at him.

"Thank you, that makes me feel better." She said.

"You're welcome." Harry smiled.

She moved to walk inside, Harry following behind her, but then stopped suddenly. She turned around to face Harry.

"One more thing," she breathed. In one swift move she raised her hand and slapped Harry hard across the face. Harry was taken aback by the sudden and rather painful blow. "That's for calling me a mudblood." She said evenly.

Harry didn't look at her in the eyes as he nodded.

"Totally deserved." He muttered.

"Now that that's all over," Hermione smiled, "we can forget about it."

She slipped a hand into Harry's and walked with him through the front door and inside the Headquarters.

xxx

Harry walked into the kitchen and saw his mum standing at the stove, mixing something in a very large pot. She looked over at him as soon as he walked through the door.

"At last!" Lily smiled, "I thought I was going to have to drag you back inside."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Harry groused. He still remembered his first attempt to escape the Headquarters of the Order and how his dad had caught him at the last moment and dragged him back inside and up to his room.

Lily's smile faltered but she didn't let it fall completely from her face. She stepped away from the stove and walked over to Harry.

"I know how you feel about the Headquarters," she started, "but it's only for tonight. Can you tolerate it for just one night, please?" her eyes darted to the door which led to the living room. "I want tonight to go smoothly. I know it means a lot to Harry. He's going to remember it for a very long time so please, for him, just put up with the Headquarters."

Harry nodded his head, he could put up with it. His mum was right, it was only one night. He could do it.

Lily reached up and felt Harry's forehead, careful not to disturb the dressing. He was still burning up. With concerned eyes she studied her son.

"Feeling any better?" she asked hopefully.

Harry just smiled at her and dropped his head.

"It's not going to go in that direction mum. I have to get a whole lot worse before I get better."

Lily pursed her lips, clearly unhappy.

"I want you upstairs, in your bed, resting." She ordered.

"I can't sleep." Harry explained. Then seeing the look on her face, he quickly added. "I'm not tired."

Lily gave him a final look over and turned back to the stove.

"I'm not saying it again; go to your bed and rest. Even if you're not tired, you need to rest in order to heal."

Knowing how futile his argument would be with his mum, Harry wordlessly turned to leave. Just as he opened the kitchen door he saw Mrs Weasley rushing back into the kitchen through the entrance from the living room.

"I'm sorry I left you alone, Lily!" she apologised as soon as she bustled inside. "I had to explain what was going on to Ginny." She saw Harry lingering in the doorway and smiled brightly at him. "Oh, hello, Harry dear! Are you feeling better?"

Harry nodded yes before Lily could say anything.

"Is Ginny alright? I heard what happened at Hogwarts with Hagrid." Lily said to Molly.

Harry's interest peaked and he turned to Mrs Weasley.

"I don't know what Hagrid was thinking!" she muttered as she started preparing the pot roast. "Ginny could have been really hurt!" she said crossly.

Lily nodded her head in agreement but noticed Harry still at the door. She raised her eyebrows at him making him sigh with resignation.

"Upstairs, bed, rest, I get it." He repeated.

Before he turned to walk out of the kitchen he saw the satisfied smile on his mum's face.

xxx

Harry didn't go upstairs to his room like Lily wanted. Instead he turned to the room next to the kitchen. He walked into the small living room to find Ron, Hermione, both Ginny's and his counterpart in front of the dying fire.

They looked up as Harry walked inside. Harry couldn't help but grin as he saw the fourteen year old Ginny look at him with mild shock. Harry walked further inside, locking his gaze with his girlfriend Ginny, noting how amused she looked sitting next to her younger self.

"Are all the explanations over?" he asked, directing his question to his younger self.

Fifteen year old Harry nodded, smiling impishly at Ginny.

"Yep, Ginny's all caught up now."

Ginny turned to look at him, annoyed.

"I still can't believe this." She muttered. She turned back to her brother Ron and glared angrily at him. "So much was going on, Harry had swapped dimensions with his alternate self and no one told me!"

"Why did you have to know?" Ron asked.

He was swatted on the arm in response.

"I'm Harry's friend too!" Ginny fumed. "You should have told me!"

"Alright, you don't have to get violent!" Ron rubbed at his arm. "Besides, Harry asked us not to say anything to anyone."

"Everyone will find out now," the older Ginny said suddenly, looking at Harry. "Once what happened at the Ministry with Voldemort is reported, everyone will think you're not the _real_ Harry Potter."

The rest looked confusedly between seventeen year old Ginny and her boyfriend.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"The media will report whatever statement the Ministry give," Ginny explained, "and that will be the story Dumbledore gave; that the Harry that has been attending Hogwarts this year was not the real Harry Potter. He was a ploy of Dumbledore's to catch out Voldemort. The real Harry Potter was taken into safety this entire time."

Fifteen year old Harry turned to look at his counterpart with surprise.

"So everyone will think you were a fake?" he asked. "Especially the people at Hogwarts?"

The older Harry nodded.

"I guess so." He replied.

"Doesn't that bother you?" the younger Harry asked.

His older counterpart shrugged.

"Not particularly." He studied his younger self for a few moments. "I've never cared for what others think of me. You can't win with this world so why bother trying?"

The younger Harry didn't reply but felt his insides twist with anger. He didn't want anyone thinking of his counterpart as a _fake_. It didn't feel right.

"Talking about what happened at the Ministry," fourteen year old Ginny started. "Nice work!" she grinned at the eighteen year old boy. "What you did, the way you tricked everyone, even V...Voldemort!" Ginny managed the name with little hesitation. "I've got to say, I'm impressed!"

The eighteen year old just dropped his gaze to the ground, not saying anything in response.

"Yeah, but I'm annoyed at you for one thing." The younger Harry said, making his older self look up at him with curiosity. "I know why you did it but, I wish you hadn't smashed the Prophecy. I wanted to see what it was." Harry admitted.

To his surprise, the eighteen year old Harry smiled widely.

"I had almost forgotten about that." He said with a chuckle. His gaze shifted from the fifteen year old back to the fourteen year old Ginny. With a few steps, Harry was standing before her. "Can I have it back now?" he said, holding out his hand.

To everyone's bewilderment, Ginny nodded and moved her hands to the back of her neck, fiddling with something. She finally managed to undo the clasp and she pulled a chain away from her neck. The long golden chain had a teardrop shaped crystal pendant hanging from it. Wordlessly, Ginny dropped the necklace into Harry's waiting hand.

Everyone moved closer, curiosity making them inch nearer to see what was happening. The eighteen year old closed his fist around the pendant. He opened his hand slowly to show a glass sphere rapidly growing in size until it sat fully in Harry's hand.

The fifteen year old Harry stared in amazement at the glass orb with white mist swirling inside. He looked back up at his counterpart, not daring to believe what he had done.

"Is...Is that...?" Hermione started.

"The Prophecy!" Ron breathed, realising what it must be.

Hermione suddenly turned to face the fourteen year old Ginny, eyes wide and accusing.

"You had the Prophecy all along?!" she asked. "You said the necklace was a present from Michael!"

"No I didn't." Ginny calmly answered. "You asked if it was a present from Michael and I replied 'maybe'. I didn't say it was from him, you just assumed it was."

The older Ginny chuckled at her counterpart. That was so like her.

"Wait, I don't get it," Ron said. "If Ginny had the Prophecy then what were you both fighting over at the Ministry?" he asked both Harrys.

Everyone looked at the eighteen year old for an answer.

"It was a button," he replied. "A button transfigured into a glass orb."

The fifteen year old Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"You had switched the Prophecy?" he asked in amusement. "When did you do this?"

The older Harry looked a little subdued at the question.

"When I found out Voldemort had travelled to my world and hurt Lucius and Narcissa. I knew that he had taken their memories and that was how he knew so much about me." He went quiet as he admitted, "Voldemort had already told me he was after the Prophecy. He told me where to find it." Everyone went incredibly silent, not daring to even bat an eyelash. "I was supposed to pick it up for him, in exchange he would give me the compass so I could go back home, back to my world." Harry explained.

"You did go to meet him!" Hermione whispered in shocked horror.

Harry shook his head.

"I didn't go looking for him. He set a trap and I fell for it."

"Were you going to give him the Prophecy?" the younger Harry asked quietly.

"At first, yes," the older Harry admitted. "I didn't see what harm it could do. Voldemort was after you regardless." He paused for a moment, forcing the images of Frank and Alice's deadened eyes staring blankly at him. "But I changed my mind and I didn't want Voldemort getting what he wanted. I was afraid he might try to get the Prophecy without my help, so one night, I left Hogwarts and apparated to the Ministry and picked up the Prophecy, replacing it with the transfigured button. That was the same night I got the rune, protecting myself from any memory charms Voldemort might throw my way."

"You knew he would try that?" the younger Ginny asked in awe.

"Like I said, he had seen Lucius' memories." Harry said quietly.

The younger Ginny looked confused but suddenly it made sense to her and she looked away uncomfortably.

"What night was this?" Hermione asked, trying to remember when Harry had left for so long that he could have done both jobs.

"The night before I found you and Ron sleeping together." Harry answered, mischievously.

"What?!" both Ginnys gasped.

Ron and Hermione looked around, flushed red with embarrassment.

"No, no, it's not what it sounds like!" Hermione defended.

Fifteen year old Harry was looking at his two best friends with very wide eyes.

"Bloody hell!" he muttered.

"It wasn't like that!" Ron explained, "We weren't sleeping together, we just...slept together. No, that didn't come out right. It...we were...both of us were waiting for Harry to show up and we fell asleep, that's all!"

"Ron, where was Hermione's head?" the older Harry asked with a smirk.

"In my lap." Ron answered, not realising what it sounded like until it was too late.

Both Ginnys gasped, looking very sickened. The younger Harry's eyes looked like they would fall out from their sockets, he was gaping so hard. The older Harry laughed harder as Ron spluttered and tried to explain.

"No, I meant, she...she had fallen asleep!" he defended, now beetroot red.

"Oh, really!" Hermione admonished. "Get your heads out of the gutter, you lot!" she turned to the eighteen year old, smirking Harry. "I remember now, you were awfully tense and worried a few days before and then you disappeared for the whole night. When you came back you were a lot more relaxed."

"How could I not be?" Harry answered. "I got my protection rune and had swapped the real Prophecy for a fake one. I knew whatever happened, Voldemort couldn't win. That was all I needed to relax." He smiled.

"But why Ginny?" Ron asked. "Why did you give her the Prophecy and not one of us?" he gestured to himself and Hermione.

"I asked him the same thing." The fourteen year old said. She gazed at Harry, locking eyes with him. "When he gave me the necklace, he told me it was a powerful weapon transfigured into a pendant, given to him by Professor Dumbledore, to keep away from Voldemort." she told the others. She smiled at the memory. "You said that you wanted me to keep it safe for you, that you trusted me with it. You were afraid to give it to Ron or Hermione since they were the first ones Voldemort would target if he suspected you had the weapon." A look of sadness crept into her eyes. "You didn't mean any of that did you? You just wanted me to hide the Prophecy without even knowing what it was."

Harry moved towards her, coming to rest in front of her.

"I meant every word of what I said." Harry replied. "I do trust you, and I gave you the Prophecy because I knew you would protect it with your life."

Ginny blushed and dropped her head. The older Ginny was smiling at the sight and she met his gaze, mouthing the words, 'I love you' to him.

The eighteen year old looked away from Ginny to find his counterpart. He walked over to him and held up the glass sphere.

"Here you go," he said, depositing the orb into Harry's hand. "I was only keeping it safe for you. It's up to you now, do what you want with it. Listen to it, smash it, do whatever."

The fifteen year old held onto the crystal sphere and gazed at it. He wanted to hear the Prophecy. After all, his parents had lost their lives because of it.

"Thank you." He turned to his older counterpart. "Even though you were about to give this to my enemy, I'm grateful that you gave it to me instead."

The older Harry didn't react. He simply stared at the glass orb before lifting his gaze to his counterpart's face.

"It doesn't make a difference." He told him. "The Prophecy will do nothing for you. It won't give you answers, only more questions."

The younger Harry didn't say anything but tightened his grip on the crystal orb.

"Then I want to hear them." He said.

The eighteen year old nodded his head at him. If that was what he wanted then so be it. He moved a step back but suddenly faltered. His knees threatened to buckle under him but Harry managed to stay upright. He closed his eyes as the room swam before him.

"Harry?! Are you okay?" he heard the voice of his counterpart ask him.

He opened his eyes to see the younger boy looking worriedly at him. One hand was still clutching the Prophecy while the other was around his arm, helping him to stay steady.

"Yeah," Harry breathed. "I just, felt dizzy." The charm was wearing off faster than he had expected. He straightened up, horribly aware of the others staring at him. "Harry, can you do me favour?" he asked, breathlessly.

"Sure." The fifteen year old answered.

"Cover for me," the eighteen year old said. "If mum or dad asks, tell them I'm upstairs, taking a nap. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going, Harry?" seventeen year old Ginny was quick to ask.

"I just need to deal with one last thing," Harry answered, "while I still can." He added quietly. "I'll be back soon. This won't take long." He promised.

With that he disapparated on the spot, leaving the rest stunned and more than a little worried.

xxx

Harry appeared exactly where he had hoped. He straightened up and glanced around at his surroundings. He had never been in here before. He searched the large room and saw the boy, almost hidden behind the drapes. Like he had predicted, the boy was alone, sitting on his bed, gaze lowered to his trembling hands.

Harry stepped closer to the lone figure. The sound of his steps on the ground alerted the boy to his presence and he looked up suddenly. The terror filled eyes grew impossibly wide and the boy jerked backwards, away from Harry.

Harry smirked at the sight.

"Hello, Draco," Harry said, "miss me?"

xxx

There you go! My last ever cliffie!!! This here, is the last cliffhanger you guys will ever have to tolerate from me! The next chapter is the last chapter of Deepest Reflections and like always there will be a short Epilogue at the end to tie up any loose ends.

Please review!! Cheers!!!


	44. Final Goodbyes

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all your reviews. Sorry for the long delay, but the chapter length should make up for it.

This must be the longest chapter I have ever written! It is 48 pages long!! That is one long, last chapter!!!

Hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter Forty Four**

Draco's wide grey eyes were fixed unwaveringly on the boy that had suddenly appeared in his room. He rose to his feet, nervously keeping his eyes on the dark haired boy. Harry stayed where he was and made a point to just stare back at him.

Draco's eyes darted once to his bed, where his wand lay, just out of reach. Harry glanced at the wand too and then smiled.

"Go on, Draco," he challenged, "if you think you can fight me and _survive_, go ahead and pick it up."

Draco shot his wand another look but didn't move towards it. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. He was utterly terrified. He remained where he was, hands uselessly by his sides.

"I'll be honest," Harry said, walking slowly towards him. "You have me in a dilemma of sorts. I don't want to hurt you." He paused purposefully here, watching the relief wash over the other boy. He smirked at the sight. "But I can't ignore what you did. Your little polyjuice and portkey trick nearly cost me my freedom, not to mention my life." He came to rest in front of him. He tilted his head to the side, scrutinising the trembling boy. "And unfortunately for you, forgiveness isn't something I possess."

His eyes must have darkened because Draco let out a noise of fear and tried to back away but hit the bedside table, knocking the jug of water over. The sound of the jug hitting the floor reverberated in the room and Draco's eyed darted to the door, clearly hoping someone would come inside to investigate.

"No one is coming," Harry informed him, "The Silencio I cast the moment I got here will make sure no one hears anything." He took another step closer to the petrified boy.

Draco acted as soon as Harry stepped forward. He had closed his hand around the silver goblet that had been next to the jug of water. Draco swung it with all his might at Harry, but missed as Harry twisted out of the way. Draco took his chance and jumped past Harry, leaping towards his bed, grabbing for his wand. He turned around, pointing it shakily at Harry.

Harry smiled at the sight. Ignoring the wand, he leant back, resting against the bedside table.

"My, my, aren't we feeling hopeful?" Harry mocked. "You really think you can duel with me?"

Draco's hand was shaking but he kept the wand pointed at Harry.

"Leave!" he hissed at Harry, fear and defeat clear in his voice.

"Not without taking my revenge." Harry simply answered.

"I didn't want to do it!" Draco cried, "I tried to find a way out but I was trapped! I had to trick you! It was the only way!"

"The only way for what?" Harry asked, "The only way for you to be accepted as a _Death Eater_?"

Draco shook his head. His grey eyes were watering now, either with fear or anger.

"No!" he spat, "The only way for me to save my life!"

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"So you sold me out to save your own skin?"

Draco's pale complexion lost even more colour and he looked like he was about to be sick.

"It wasn't just about me; I had to save my family!" He answered. "The Dark Lord had ordered me to trick you and send you to him. If I failed, he would've killed my mother before killing me! Father told me he couldn't do anything to change the Lord's mind." Draco looked sickly pale as he retold Harry what had happened. "I tried being friends with you but you pushed me away. I watched you and Longbottom and I knew if I could pretend to be him, I would have a chance to give you the portkey. I had to deliver you to him otherwise I would have been forced to watch the murder of my mother before being killed myself."

Harry listened, keeping his expressionless mask in place. He walked over to him, ignoring the wand that was shakily fixed on him.

"Being a coward isn't an excuse." Harry said. "You did what Voldemort said because you were afraid. You should have been more afraid of me."

Draco didn't see Harry's hand as it shot towards him; it was too fast. Harry's fingers wrapped around his throat as his other hand gripped at Draco's wrist. A quick, painful twist and Draco dropped his wand with a groan.

Harry grabbed the Slytherin by his robes and slammed him hard against the wall. A squeak of pain and surprise escaped the boy and he stared up in terror at Harry.

"You can't even imagine what you put me through!" Harry hissed at him. "I could have lost everything I hold dear to me, because of you!"

Draco tried to talk but fear had closed up his throat, rendering him mute. He watched with a thudding heart as Harry's green eyes turned almost bottomless black. He struggled to get out of the fierce grip but was slammed against the wall as a result.

"It's time you learned something, Malfoy!" Harry growled at him, "Actions always have repercussions!"

Draco cried out when he saw the wand. He struggled but Harry's one handed hold on him was too strong to break out of. He felt the fingers tighten around his throat again, so much that he was having problems breathing but he continued to struggle.

"P-please!" he spluttered, fighting to free himself. "Please...d-don't!"

Harry pressed the tip of his wand under his chin. At once, Draco stopped struggling and kept himself as still as he could. His frightened grey eyes darted to Harry and he felt tears sting them.

"I should kill you for what you did." Harry told him in a deadly voice. "You don't deserve anything less!"

Draco whimpered with fright.

"But I owe too much to Narcissa to take away her only son."

The grip suddenly loosened and Draco fell to the floor. Stunned and dazed, he looked up at Harry who had a disgusted expression on his face.

"Do yourself a favour, Malfoy," Harry said, pocketing his wand again and straightening his robes. "Don't get involved in a mess you can't get out of. Do what you do best; crawl under a rock and stay there, away from Voldemort and away from your father!"

Harry turned and without another word to the shaken boy, disapparated back to Grimmauld place. He didn't spare a single glance at the sobbing boy, still on the floor.

xxx

When Harry returned to the Headquarters, he was in no mood to talk to anyone. His meeting with Draco had taken a lot out of him. He didn't like what he had just done to Draco, but he knew he had to do something or the stupid boy would get himself killed following Voldemort's or Lucius' orders. He did want to get him back for tricking him and sending him to Voldemort. But he didn't feel any better after threatening him. If anything, he felt worse.

The Moratus charm was slowly withering away and the effects of his withdrawal were getting progressively worse. All he wanted to do was collapse in his bed and sleep. He apparated straight into the room he was staying in at Grimmauld Place, so he decided to do just that. After all, his mum and dad thought he was resting, so why not actually do it.

Harry had no sooner pulled the covers over himself and settled comfortably to sleep that his mum came knocking at his door. She smiled at the sight of Harry, obediently in bed.

"I didn't wake you up, I hope." She started, walking inside.

"No, I was awake." Harry replied.

"I just came to say that dinner's ready," she said with a smile.

Harry paused, considering what he should do. He was incredibly tired, his body was protesting fiercely against him getting back on his feet. He really didn't want to get out of bed but his stomach clenched painfully with hunger pangs. He hadn't eaten anything for almost two days now.

"I can save you some food, if you want to rest some more?" Lily said, sensing the hesitation.

But Harry smiled and shook his head. It had been seven months since he had sat down for a meal with his parents, he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.

"No, it's fine. I'm more hungry than tired." He said getting out of bed.

The look on Lily's face was clear; she couldn't wait to get Harry downstairs and start feeding him.

As Harry entered the dining room, he saw Ron, Hermione and both Ginnys setting the table. It looked like it was going to be quite a feast as the table had been magically elongated. As Harry walked inside the four teens looked up at him. Harry saw the look of relief flood his girlfriend's face. She hurried over to him, passing Lily on the way who was heading quickly to the kitchen.

"Thank Merlin, you're back!" she whispered to him as she hugged him. "I tried to stop Mrs Potter from going up to see you but..." she looked embarrassedly at him. "I couldn't stand in her way. I'm so glad you got back in time."

Harry smiled down at her and kissed her, a quick soft kiss on her lips.

"It's okay," he whispered back. "No one can stand in her way." He grinned.

Ginny smiled back at him.

"Where did you go?" she asked.

Harry shook his head at her.

"I'll explain later." He whispered.

Ginny nodded and leaned in for an embrace. That's when she noticed two things about him. The first was the feeling of a thick bandage wound tightly around his torso and the second was how warm Harry was.

"Harry...?" she started worriedly, reclining back a little and reaching out to rest her hand on his chest.

Harry let her step back but took a hold of her hand, easily manoeuvring it so it was no longer touching his bandaged chest but clutched tightly in his own.

"Later, I promise." He whispered. He couldn't explain everything at the moment. He saw the look on her face and added, "I'm fine, really."

Ginny was in no way convinced but she let it go, for now. Both turned around at the sound of the door opening behind them. Damien walked inside, deep in conversation with the fifteen year old Harry. Both boys stopped just at the threshold of the door,

Damien locked his gaze with his brother. Harry was staring back at Damien. He could tell the boy was still angry but even as Harry watched Damien's expression relaxed, just a little, and he took one step towards him, lips parting to speak.

At that moment, however, a large crowd of people appeared behind Damien and Harry, forcing the two fifteen year olds to move out of the way. Eighteen year old Harry watched as a large group of Order members made their way inside and to the table. He spotted James, Sirius and Remus amongst them. Harry watched as more Order members entered and moved to take a seat at the table, engrossed in talks with each other. He even spotted the half giant, Hagrid, squeezing through the door before making his way over to the table.

Harry turned to face his mum, who was busy setting down trays of food on the table.

"I didn't realise the entire Order had been invited to dinner as well." He said quietly to her.

Lily looked at him with surprise.

"It's the Headquarters of the Order, Harry." She reminded. "Everyone is welcome to stay if they like. We can't ask them to leave." Harry didn't respond but his annoyance wasn't lost on Lily. She sighed, "If you don't want to sit with them then you can go upstairs. I'll bring you a plate to your room." Lily wasn't going to force Harry to sit at a table with people he still considered his enemies. No matter how much it hurt.

Harry looked over to see the white haired Headmaster of Hogwarts walk inside, heading to the table. Harry looked around at Lily with blazing eyes.

"Don't bother, I've lost my appetite." He said and turned to walk out.

"Harry!" Lily called after him but the boy refused to acknowledge the call.

Even the pleading look from Ginny didn't stop Harry. He passed by her, heading for the door. Unfortunately his path was suddenly blocked, by Dumbledore.

"I was hoping you would join us for dinner, Mr Potter." Dumbledore said, inclining his head towards the table.

Harry felt the simmering anger inside him intensify.

"I'm not hungry." he replied tightly.

He moved to walk around him and headed for the door.

"I wanted to apologise," Dumbledore said suddenly. Harry stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He turned to look at Dumbledore, who held everyone's attention now. Dumbledore smiled serenely as he spoke to Harry. "For what happened at the Ministry. I did not intend on, how was it you phrased it? Ah, yes, _steal_ your thunder."

Taken aback, Harry turned to glare at his dad, who was seated at the table. James looked from Dumbledore to Harry, shaking his head at Harry. He hadn't said anything to Dumbledore.

"I was merely trying to help," Dumbledore continued, "I only said what I could to help free you from the Ministry."

Harry turned completely to face Dumbledore, not caring if every eye in the room was focused on him.

"I didn't need your help. You should have stayed out if it."

The room suddenly went quiet, most were probably shocked at Harry's tone and manner of speaking. Only a handful knew what Harry felt for Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore didn't look fazed by Harry's attitude. He continued to speak to him in his normal, pleasant manner.

"I apologise if you felt I was intervening in your business. That was not my intention."

Harry knew he should walk away. He knew if he stayed any longer he would say or do something to the other wizard. But even as he tried to walk away, to simply turn around and walk out the door, Dumbledore stopped him again.

"I also wanted to thank you Harry, for what you did. It was an incredible risk, fooling Voldemort like you did. It was a dangerous task you took upon yourself but I'm grateful nonetheless."

"I don't want your gratitude!" Harry hissed at him. "I didn't do anything for your benefit!"

James rose out of his seat. He could see the strain on Harry and he didn't want his son to completely lose his temper. He made his way over to them and instantly turned to his son.

"Harry, I think you should go upstairs." He said as gently as he could.

"Gladly!" Harry returned, still glaring at Dumbledore.

"Harry..."

"I don't want to talk to you!" Harry cut Dumbledore off before he could say anymore. He turned to the door to leave, idly noting the Order members sitting at the table looking shell shocked.

"I understand you're upset with me." Dumbledore suddenly said, stopping Harry in his tracks. "However it is that I have wronged you, Harry, I'm truly sorry." Dumbledore said quietly. His words were sincere and genuine, even Harry could see that. However, that did nothing to calm him.

"How you've wronged me?" he repeated, turning to him with a snarl.

"Harry, don't!" James warned but Harry ignored him.

"You have some nerve!" Harry hissed at the white haired wizard. "You really think you can get away with everything you've done by saying sorry?!"

"Maybe if you tell me what it is I have done." Dumbledore said.

"I don't need to _say_ it!" Harry fumed. "You know very well why I hate you!"

"Harry, don't do this." James warned, gripping his arm to keep him from going for Dumbledore.

The Order members were ignoring their plates of food and had their attention solely on Harry and Dumbledore.

"I'm afraid I don't know what it is you're suggesting." Dumbledore replied.

"Really?" Harry snarled. "Fine, why don't you forget about me for the moment and think about what you've done to this Harry Potter!" Harry hissed, nodding at the younger Harry.

At the mention of him, fifteen year old Harry found everyone's eyes shift to him. He was still standing next to Damien and had been watching his counterpart and Dumbledore's conversation with dread. He knew it was going to end badly. He was surprised to be brought into the conversation like that. He didn't know what his counterpart meant by that statement.

Apparently, neither did Dumbledore.

"I have always cared for Harry." Dumbledore answered at once.

"Cared for him?" Harry questioned, his lips curled around the words with disdain. "Is that why you left him with his muggle, magic hating relatives? From the entire wizarding world, you couldn't find _one_ family that could have protected and cared for him? The Dursleys were the only option were they?" he asked icily.

"Unfortunately, they were. Harry needed protection that only his mother's bloodline could provide." Dumbledore answered. "But I never knew about their treatment of him."

"His Hogwarts letter was addressed to his _cupboard_, Dumbledore!" Harry responded. "Don't pull the 'I didn't know' crap! You knew perfectly well how he was treated. In fact, you relied on it. You planned for Harry to be brought up by neglect. It gave you just what you needed. A broken, emotionally abused child you could mould into a soldier!" The words were spit out with disgust and Harry's eyes began darkening at a frightening pace.

"Harry, come on!" James pulled at Harry, desperate to get him away and to be calmed down as soon as possible, before it was too late. But Harry was too engrossed in his anger to let himself be pulled away.

"Go on, admit it!" he yelled at Dumbledore, even as James pushed him towards the door. "You did to Harry what Voldemort did to me in my world!" he spat with venom. "You're just the same as him!"

Gasps echoed around the room and a few cries of outrage were heard. Ron, Hermione, both Ginnys, the younger Harry and Damien glanced around the room and saw the anger radiating from the Order members. No one had ever insulted Dumbledore like that before.

Dumbledore however, didn't show any reaction to the insult. He looked sadly at Harry.

"I have never claimed to be better than anyone." He said. "Everyone has a past, and every past has regret." A haunted look appeared in his usually untroubled blue eyes. "But I have never wished Harry any harm. You must know that." At seeing the hate in the darkened green eyes, Dumbledore tried again. "I admit, I should have checked on Harry. He should not have been treated as he was. I guess I had hoped Petunia's resentment of her sister's ability to do magic would not be as strong as her love for her only nephew. I was wrong and for that I am sorry."

Fifteen year old Harry felt his cheeks burn. He didn't like the way they all were talking about him as if he wasn't there.

"However I can, I will make it up to him and to you." Dumbledore said. "I know why you feel angry at me, but I'm not what you think." Dumbledore stressed. "I didn't use you, Harry and I never intended to. I can confidently say that on my counterpart's behalf."

"You have a lot of trust in yourself, don't you?" Harry asked with scorn. "That's quite a claim you've made on your counterpart's behalf."

"Because I know what it is I am capable of and I could never use you, not in any world." Dumbledore said. "I do care about you and I would never make you do anything against your will. I will always keep in mind what you want."

"What I want?" Harry asked, his eyes now an impossible black. He got out of his dad's grip and took a single step towards Dumbledore. "What I want is for your entire Order to burn to the ground and you to go to Azkaban." Harry watched as the first sparks of anger appeared in Dumbledore's eyes. "Can you give me that?" Harry asked coldly. "Because your Order is no better than Death Eaters and you, Dumbledore are just as cold hearted and manipulative as Voldemort."

A loud crash met the end of Harry's words and before anyone could do anything, a blast of unexpected light caught Harry and threw him backwards. Harry smashed painfully into the wall behind him and fell to the ground.

"How dare yeh!" came a bellowing, rage filled cry and Hagrid's massive form came belting towards him, brandishing his pink umbrella in Harry's direction. "How dare yeh, speak to Professor Dumbledore like tha!" he yelled as he went for Harry.

"Hagrid, No!" James yelled, darting to stand before Harry, his wand out and pointed at the half giant.

He wasn't the only one shielding Harry. At once, Lily, Ginny, fifteen year old Harry and Damien rushed to stand between the injured Harry and the raging Hagrid. Most of the Order was on its feet, rushing to pull Hagrid back, Remus and Sirius included. Dumbledore was ordering Hagrid to back down but the half giant was lost in his rage.

"Compare him to the likes of _him_, will yeh!" Hagrid yelled, "He's nothin like _him_! Nothin!"

"Hagrid, stop!" Dumbledore pulled the wizard back with his magic, since nothing else could have restrained him. Even so, Hagrid fought against the pull and tried to get to Harry.

"Stay away from him!" Damien yelled, his wand pointed at Hagrid as he stood before his brother.

"Hagrid! Stop it!" the fifteen year old Harry cried as he saw the half giant fight against the magic holding him.

Dumbledore managed to pull Hagrid back and away from Harry, making those protecting him sigh with relief. Damien turned around to look at his brother and felt his heart almost stop.

A dark stain was steadily spreading on Harry's chest.

"Oh my God!" Damien breathed as he saw the blood stain his brother's robes. Harry was taking deep breaths and was clearly in a lot of pain. He struggled to his feet bringing a hand to his chest and pulled it away with a groan. It was covered in blood too.

James and Lily were at his side, helping him to stay on his feet. Harry's angry eyes moved from the still raging Hagrid to the pale faced Ron and Hermione, standing next to the collapsed table that Hagrid had upturned when he went to attack Harry.

Even though he was in immense pain and couldn't quite get his breathing under control, Harry couldn't help but growl at them,

"Friendly half giant, is he?!" He breathed angrily.

Ron and Hermione didn't say anything and just glanced awkwardly over at Hagrid.

Harry pushed his parents' hands away from himself and stumbled out of the room, leaving behind shocked occupants, a furious Hagrid and a thoroughly ruined dinner.

xxx

James pulled out the supplies again, this time with urgency. He hurried over to Harry who was sitting on top of the desk, having his top cut away from him by Lily. As soon as the bloodied torn shirt was pulled away, James and Lily saw the bandages soaked through with blood. Lily carefully pulled the bloodied bandages away and examined the burn wound. Blood marred Harry's chest where the wound had clearly ruptured. Fresh blood dripped down his torso and was now staining the waistband of his pants. Whatever spell Hagrid had hit him with had struck him on his chest, right where he had been burned by Voldemort.

James and Lily started straight away, cleaning away the blood and healing the wound the best they could. Harry stayed silent throughout, not allowing even a hiss of pain to escape.

James covered the wound with more salve before Lily proceeded to redress the wound. James stepped back as Lily began bandaging Harry's chest.

James found himself looking through the box of medical supplies for more pain relief potion when he realised something; the potion wasn't going to work. Harry was in a withdrawal and during this period, he couldn't take any potions. They wouldn't work and may make him feel sick. He realised the very first pain potion he had given Harry this morning hadn't worked either. Harry had just pretended the potion was working. The realisation brought with it extreme anger. Harry was going to have to suffer the pain from the burn wound as well as his withdrawal without any sort of a reprieve. James felt his resolve to not get angry with Harry break.

"You couldn't help yourself, could you?" James said irately as he smacked the vial back in the box. "You always have to take every given opportunity to insult Dumbledore."

Harry looked up at him.

"He was asking for it." he answered back.

"Was he, Harry?" James asked, turning to look at him. "Because it seemed to me he was only trying to talk to you!"

"Come on, dad! You saw the way he kept egging me on. I tried to walk away so many times but he just kept pushing me! What was I supposed to do?"

Lily finished the bandage and stepped back before answering him.

"You could have stopped yourself from saying things you obviously don't mean." she said quietly.

"Like what?" Harry snapped. "I meant every word of what I said!"

"Really?" James asked angrily. "Well, did you forget that both your parents are a part of the Order? The same Order you want to _burn to the ground_!" James repeated through clenched teeth.

Harry looked down at the ground, not willing to make eye contact with either of them.

"You know that I don't think of you as Order members." Harry answered, a lot more calmly.

"Don't say it like being a member of the Order is a bad thing!" Lily fought back. "We're not ashamed of being with Dumbledore but it's clear you are!"

"Of course I am!" Harry yelled back. "He's using you just like he uses everyone! Why can't you see that?!"

"You have to get this idea out of your head, Harry!" James said. "He's not using anyone."

"I can't believe how much trust you have in him!" Harry shook his head. "You really can't see him for what he is, can you?"

"And I suppose you can?" Lily asked.

"Yes, I can!" Harry responded. "Maybe I'm the only one who can because I don't let him get inside my head!"

"I have never interfered with your judgment of Dumbledore." James started. "I just figured you needed time to see he wasn't what you thought, but your hatred of him is getting out of hand! What you said to him tonight was uncalled for!"

"And what about what he said to me? You don't seem to care about that!" Harry answered back.

"What did he say that was so wrong?" Lily asked.

"His blatant lies may not bother you but they bother me!" Harry said heatedly. "I hate it when he pretends to care and his empty praises and..." Harry stopped all of a sudden. His chest throbbed painfully and he felt like he was about to pass out. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain but it was proving futile.

He sensed, through closed eyelids, that both his parents had reached him and were next to him.

"I'm going to prepare a cooling salve." He heard Lily say. "It should help."

Harry forced his eyes open when he heard Lily walk away. He saw his dad kneeling next to him, worried eyes fixed on him. Harry gave him a shaky smile.

"It'll die down," he assured his dad, talking about the pain. "Eventually." He added at the end.

James didn't look any calmer. He reached out, gently touching Harry's face before his hand rested on his forehead, taking his temperature. He shook his head in worry as Harry continued to burn up with fever.

"This is a complication we really didn't need." James said anxiously, eyeing Harry's bandaged chest.

"It's not like I asked that oaf of his to attack me!" Harry countered.

"With the way you were talking to Dumbledore in the presence of his Order members, I'm not too sure!" James responded.

"I'm not afraid of his _Order_!" Harry spat angrily.

"There! You're doing it again!" James said. "You're talking about the Order, as if you don't know I'm a part of it too."

"Maybe you shouldn't be a part of it." Harry said quietly. "Don't tell me you don't see what he's doing. You're smarter than that, dad." Harry said. "You've seen what Dumbledore did to Harry in this world." He looked carefully at his dad. "Are you not mad at him?"

"Of course I'm mad at him." James replied. "I hate him for sending my son to live with the Dursleys. But that doesn't mean that I hate him completely. He did what he thought was best. He was trying to protect Harry with blood magic. Nothing can defy blood magic."

Harry looked away dejectedly, shaking his head.

"You don't see it." he said quietly.

"What don't I see?" James asked, desperate to understand the fierce animosity Harry had for Dumbledore.

"What he's really doing." Harry replied. He looked back over at him. "He only sent Harry to live with the Dursleys so they could hurt him, enough for Harry to think Dumbledore saved him by bringing him to Hogwarts. Don't you see it, dad? Dumbledore just did what Voldemort did to me. He made sure Harry's childhood was devoid of love and care and then came to him, offering a place he could call home and providing a sense of belonging. In return, Harry will do whatever he asks of him, not ever questioning it."

"It's not like that, Harry. You're fighting to make it fit, to make it the same as what happened to you." James argued. "Dumbledore is not like Voldemort."

"No," Harry agreed, initially surprising James, "Dumbledore's worse."

"Harry..."

"At least Voldemort never hid what he was. He was honest, a lot more honest than Dumbledore." Harry cut across him. "Did Dumbledore ever tell you who brought Tom Riddle to Hogwarts?" Harry suddenly asked.

James felt his heart miss a beat.

"No." He answered.

Harry's lips curved into a smirk.

"You want to guess?"

James felt goose bumps erupt all over him at the look in Harry's eyes.

"Who was it?" he asked.

"It was your _leader_, Dumbledore." Harry answered with disdain. "Dumbledore visited the orphanage Tom Riddle was staying in and he told him he was a wizard. Dumbledore was the one who introduced Tom to the wizarding world. Then he stood back and watched him turn into Voldemort."

"You can't possibly blame Dumbledore for what Voldemort became!" James said at once. "That's unfair."

"Dumbledore could see what Tom was like at Hogwarts." Harry replied. "He knew he was turning into a dark wizard but he did nothing about it. Voldemort told me himself, he told me Dumbledore always suspected him, kept an eye on him but he never stopped him." Harry smiled wryly at James. "It's no good being a fighter if you have nothing to fight against." He said quietly. "Dumbledore could have stopped Tom Riddle from becoming Voldemort if he wanted to but that wouldn't do him any good so he waited, he held back until people started dying before he proclaimed himself as a 'leader' and went against Voldemort."

"What did you expect him to do?" James asked. "What could Dumbledore do to stop Voldemort?"

"He claims to be a legendary wizard," Harry scoffed. "He could've done plenty."

"You don't even know why you're angry at him. You're blaming Dumbledore for Voldemort's crimes? Even you know how unfair that is." James replied.

"Ask Dumbledore, he'll tell you he's responsible too." Harry said, clenching his teeth tightly at the pain that erupted in his chest suddenly.

James saw the pain filled expression and he instinctively reached out for Harry.

"Alright, Harry," James relented, wanting an end to the argument. "Alright, you're right about Dumbledore. He may be no different to Voldemort." James saw the surprise flit over Harry's expression. "But I would still argue Dumbledore is the lesser of two evils."

Before Harry could respond, James had stood up.

"You should get some rest, you look terrible." He said.

"Thanks." Harry replied, shooting him a half heartened glare. He thought to himself if he looked even half as bad as he felt, then he must look dreadful.

James waited for Harry to get up before he guided him to the bed. He refused to leave until Harry was in bed.

"Go to sleep, I'll check on Lily and see how far the salve has come." James said.

Harry nodded and fought against his eyes closing but it was futile. He was already asleep before James got to the door. James smiled sadly at the sight of Harry sleeping. His fatigue was such that he could easily sleep, no matter how much pain he was in. James left quietly, clicking the door to close. He hoped Harry managed to sleep a few hours, before the pain became unbearable and woke him up.

James had just gone down one set of stairs when he saw Damien, making his way up. Both stopped at the sight of each other. James saw at once, the look of worry and concern on his youngest son.

"I was just..." Damien gestured to the floor above. "How is he?" he asked, too worried to pretend anymore. "Is he okay? He was bleeding after Hagrid...he isn't hurt badly, is he?" he asked.

James walked down the stairs to reach him.

"Harry's fine." He assured. "He was hurt beforehand. Hagrid's spell just made it worse, unfortunately." He said. He saw the look of concern worsen on Damien. He moved towards the stairs, clearly intending on going up to see Harry but James stopped him, reluctantly. "He's sleeping, Damy." He said. "Please don't wake him."

Damien fell back, nodding.

"Come on." James led Damien back down the stairs and away from Harry's room.

xxx

Damien sat restlessly, fidgeting in his seat, glancing at the door every few seconds. Across from him, fifteen year old Harry watched him, growing more annoyed at him by the minute.

"Will you just go upstairs and see him already!" he snapped finally.

Damien's hazel eyes shot to him in surprise but he quickly looked away, forcing himself to sit still.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"You're worried about him." Harry said. "Just go and see him."

Damien shook his head but glanced longingly at the door. It had been almost an hour now since he had gone to see Harry, putting aside his stubbornness to stay angry at his brother. But his dad had stopped him, saying Harry was asleep. He wondered if Harry was awake by now. Seemingly coming to a decision, Damien half raised himself from his seat but then changed his mind again. He sat back down.

"This is really stupid." Harry berated crossly.

Damien shot him a glare and slouched back in his seat. Harry didn't say anything and looked away from him.

They were back in the dining room. Ron was sitting next to the two boys. They, along with Hermione and both Ginnys, had helped Mrs Weasley and Tonks clear up the mess Hagrid made when he threw the table aside. The food that had taken hours to prepare was ruined. The rest of the Order, including Dumbledore and Hagrid, had left shortly after Hagrid had calmed down enough.

At the moment, the females were in the kitchen, trying to salvage a suitable meal for dinner. The three boys had sat miserably, in silence, going over what had happened in their heads. All three of the boys had seen the blood on Harry after Hagrid had attacked him. That was what was worrying Damien the most.

Harry was watching Damien struggle with himself to go check on his brother, and found it unbearably annoying. But no matter how much he told him to go and make up with Harry, Damien refused.

The door opened and the three girls came inside, looking exhausted. They collapsed into the seats next to the boys.

"Did you manage to save anything?" Ron asked.

"Some, yes," Hermione answered. "Mrs Weasley is just fixing it up."

Seventeen year old Ginny shook her head, rubbing at her forehead.

"What a night," she sighed. "I didn't think it would end like this."

Fifteen year old Harry nodded quietly. He hadn't thought their dinner party would end like this either.

"I don't understand," the younger Ginny started. "Why was Harry fighting with Professor Dumbledore like that?" she asked, looking still a bit shocked. "I can't believe what he said to him, about him being like...like, You-Know-Who."

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other and shifted in their seats. They had gathered from Harry's previous comments how much distrust Harry had for Dumbledore but they never imagined Harry hated him with such severity.

"Well, that's Harry." Seventeen year old Ginny muttered. "He likes to ruffle as many feathers as possible."

"I think he over did it today." the fifteen year old Harry responded.

"Hagrid shouldn't have attacked him." Hermione said, shaking her head. "Professor Dumbledore could have handled the matter himself. Hagrid had no business interfering like that! He really hurt Harry." She said, worriedly.

Damien glanced at the door again.

"I never thought Hagrid could attack someone like that." Ron said, more to himself than others.

Harry and Damien shared a knowing look before dropping their gazes. Both of them had rushed to stand between Hagrid and the eighteen year old Harry because both boys had seen and learned what the half giant could do when in a rage. That was why they had rushed to protect Harry.

"I think Hagrid was just too worked up to think straight. He's had quite a day!" the fourteen year old Ginny said with a tired sigh.

The rest looked confusedly at her.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

The younger Ginny looked round at her with surprise.

"You don't know what happened today?" she asked.

Hermione shook her head. The rest shrugged their shoulders at Ginny's questioning stare.

"Didn't you guys wonder why I'm here?" she asked.

"I meant to ask you," Hermione said. "But so much else was happening..." she trailed off, looking a little ashamed.

"I thought you must have heard by now. I was certain mum told everyone!" the fourteen year old moaned.

"I did hear mum speaking to Mrs Potter about you and Hagrid and something about the Forbidden Forest but I didn't understand it." Ron said. Sitting up a little straighter in his seat he asked, "What happened?"

The fourteen year old launched straight into her story.

"I had just finished practise, Angelina was freaking out about losing her seeker and keeper." She shot her brother a look. "So we had an emergency try out, before breakfast, to get new players. We had to find new players otherwise we would have to forfeit the game on Saturday." Ron shifted, obviously feeling guilty, but he didn't interrupt. "I was just about to head back to the castle when Hagrid stopped me. He looked really worried and begged me to come with him. He said he had to show me something." Both Harry and Damien leaned forward in interest. "He took me into the Forbidden Forest." Ginny continued. "I don't think I've been that deep in the forest before. I kept asking him what he wanted to show me but Hagrid wouldn't tell me. Finally we came to a clearing and he showed me why he had brought me there." Ginny paused, prompting Hermione into asking.

"What was it?"

"I think the better question is, who was it?" the younger Ginny shook her head. "There, in front of me was the biggest giant I have ever seen!" she exclaimed.

Harry and Damien nearly shot out of their seats.

"A giant!" Harry asked, "in the forest!?"

Ginny nodded her head, mistaking his panic for excitement.

"I know! I couldn't believe it either. I never thought I would see a giant, especially near Hogwarts! I mean, except for Hagrid of course."

Harry and Damien shared another panicked look. They both had seen the memory of what had happened when giants had come to Hogwarts. It made both boys shiver.

"How many were there?!" Damien asked.

Ginny looked confused.

"Um, just the one, Grawp. That's what Hagrid said his name was."

"Grawp!?" Harry whispered. He had heard that name. In the memory of Hagrid's death, he had heard Hagrid scream the name at the Auror who had killed the giant Hagrid was trying to protect. At the time, though, Harry thought the name was just an expression of rage, a guttural cry, spewing from Hagrid's mouth. He never thought it was a name.

"Who the hell is Grawp?" Ron asked.

"Hagrid's brother." Ginny informed.

"What? Hagrid has a brother?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Well, technically he's his half brother but Hagrid was in full big brother mode." Ginny explained.

Harry and Damien sat still. Hagrid had a half brother, who was a full giant.

"Why did Hagrid take you to see his brother?" the seventeen year old Ginny asked.

"That's what I asked him." the younger Ginny answered. "Hagrid was scared that he may be asked to leave soon. You see, he had his observation by Umbridge and it didn't go so well. He was afraid he may be sacked and after what happened to Trelawney, Hagrid was certain he too would be asked to leave. He said he didn't want Professor Dumbledore to get into more trouble with the Ministry for trying to keep him, like he did for keeping Trelawney, so if sacked, he would leave. He wanted me to look after Grawp for him, if he had to leave."

"What?!" Ron erupted. "Has Hagrid lost it? You can't look after a giant! You can barely look after yourself!"

He earned two slaps for that; one from each Ginny. He looked incensed at both of them.

"Anyway," the fourteen year old Ginny continued. "I think Grawp got a little...excited. He reached over and picked me up, completely off the ground. I started screaming and I think I might have scared him. He let go of me and I fell. Thankfully, Hagrid caught me. But I sort of hurt my back when Grawp grabbed me. Hagrid kept saying he was sorry and rushed me back to Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore told Hagrid to bring me to the Headquarters, after Madame Poppy checked me over. I didn't understand why Professor Dumbledore wanted me to come here, but obviously, now I know why." She gestured to the rest of them. "It seems like I was the only one missing out on the fun." She smirked.

"Grawp was his brother." Harry breathed, not paying Ginny any attention now. He realised now what had had actually happened with the Hagrid of the other world. "He was his brother!"

He looked at Damien who had an expression of understanding as well.

"He wasn't protecting the giants! He was trying to protect his brother!" Damien said, feeling his heart beat painfully fast.

"He wasn't a traitor." Harry said, immensely relieved at the realisation. "He wasn't a traitor."

"Um, what are you two on about?" Ron asked, looking between the two Potter boys.

But Harry and Damien ignored him and the rest for now.

"We have to tell dad," Harry said to Damien. "He has to clear Hagrid's name. Professor Dumbledore should know why Hagrid didn't listen to him and back down. He couldn't, he was trying to protect his brother. I mean what kind of a brother would Hagrid be if he didn't try to save his younger brother. He would have done anything to protect him!"

Damien nodded his head but the words Harry had spoken made him suddenly think about his brother. His Harry was the same. He always did half crazy things to protect him. But whatever Harry did, he always did to keep Damien from harm, even if it meant firing bogus killing curses his way.

Without another word to anyone, Damien got up and headed to the door. He was going to go see his big brother.

xxx

Damien walked back into the living room a mere two minutes later, looking worried.

"What's wrong?" fifteen year old Harry asked as soon as the boy walked inside. He had been busy telling the four inquisitive teens what he and Damien were talking about. Needless to say, they were shocked and upset about what happened to Hagrid.

"Harry's not in his room." Damien said quietly.

Seventeen year old Ginny almost leapt to her feet.

"What?!"

"I went upstairs to talk to him but, he's not there." Damien explained.

"Where did he go now?" Hermione asked.

"Should we tell your parents?" Ron asked.

"No, let's have a proper look first." Harry said. "He might still be here, somewhere. There's no point in panicking them if Harry is simply in the bathroom or something."

They all decided to have a look around the manor first, before raising the alarm that Harry may be missing.

xxx

Fifteen year old Harry opened the door at the top floor of the manor and just stood, staring at the sight before him. He took a step forward and found himself standing under the open sky. Stars, scattered over the black canvas of the night sky, twinkled down on him and the cool breeze of the spring night washed over him, ruffling his hair and tickling his face.

He saw the amazing sight of the city stretched out before him and sitting on the ground, staring at the sight was his eighteen year old counterpart. Harry knew the older boy had heard him walk inside but he had yet to turn around to see who had joined him. Harry cleared his throat.

"I didn't know Sirius had a roof garden." He said as he stepped further forward.

"He doesn't," eighteen year old Harry answered, still not turning around to look at him. "It's an illusion."

The younger Harry looked around at his surrounding again, silently amazed. The cool night's air whipped lightly at his face again.

"What about the breeze?" he asked, knowing that couldn't possibly be an illusion.

"I opened the windows." The older Harry replied.

"Oh" Harry replied. That should have been obvious.

The younger Harry sat down next to his older counterpart, relieved that he had found him.

"We were looking for you." The fifteen year old informed his older self. "You were supposed to be in your room, resting."

"I couldn't sleep." The older Harry replied with a wince. The ache in his chest had woken up him.

Fifteen year old Harry could see the exhaustion on his counterpart. The bloodshot eyes, pale complexion and exhausted looking face hid nothing.

"Are you okay?" he asked before he could really help it.

The older Harry looked around at him before shrugging.

"Alright, I guess." He answered. "As long as no other minion of Dumbledore's tries to kill me, I'll survive."

The younger boy looked away, feeling angry at both Hagrid for what he did and at Harry, for what he said.

"You're annoyed at me?" the older Harry asked, reading his expression.

"Shouldn't I be?" Harry asked in return. "You said a lot of things you shouldn't have."

"Don't you start as well." The older Harry sighed, rubbing at his head. "I've had enough from mum and dad."

"Did they have a go at you?" the younger Harry asked, not surprised if they had. They had been horribly embarrassed by Harry's actions.

"Of course they did." The eighteen year old answered. He shook his head. "I've not been back with them for even a day and already the arguments have started." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "It shouldn't be this hard." He whispered miserably.

The fifteen year old just stared at his other self, feeling his heart quicken at the sight of him looking so dejected.

"Anything that's worth having doesn't come easy." The younger boy said. "I think that's particularly true when it comes to family."

The older boy dropped his hands away from his face and looked around at the younger boy. He couldn't find anything to say in response so settled for nodding his head. The words his fifteen year old self had spoken rang in his head and he realised that they were very true.

"I meant what I said," The older Harry said after a few minutes of silence, "about Dumbledore. He's no better than Voldemort."

The younger boy felt the stirring of anger in the pit of his stomach.

"Harry, please..."

"Don't fall for his tricks, Harry." The older boy interrupted. "Don't believe everything he says. He'll tell you what you want to hear, promise you all sorts of things but all he cares about is you fulfilling that stupid prophesy!"

"Maybe I want to fulfil it," the younger Harry said. "I want to destroy Voldemort for killing my parents, for taking away my family. Professor Dumbledore can only help me achieve that goal."

The eighteen year old Harry didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Whatever you do, do it for your reasons." He said at last. "Don't do anything for him."

The fifteen year old nodded his head. A few moments of silence descended on the boys, leaving them to their thoughts.

"Not that I'm repeating the Headmaster's words or anything but, I wanted to say thank you," the younger Harry started, breaking the silence. "For everything you did."

His older counterpart looked around at him, gazing at him for a moment before looking away.

"I didn't do it for you." He simply returned.

"I know," fifteen year old Harry answered, "but I'm still thankful." He looked carefully at his other self before he said the next part, "not just for bringing down Voldemort but for what you did for Sirius. You gave him back his life, his freedom. I could never thank you enough for that."

As soon as Sirius was mentioned, eighteen year old Harry's face clouded and he dropped his gaze to the ground. The younger Harry was watching him and noted the strange reaction. When Harry raised his head again he had his expressionless mask in place.

"It's fine." he said, stiffly.

"You should hear him," fifteen year old Harry said, with a smile on his face. "He's already planning on spending all of his money. The accounts the Ministry had frozen after his imprisonment are to be given back to him. He was going on about buying a thirty bedroom mansion to live in!" The fifteen year old shook his head. "I'm talking him out of it." He added. He glanced back at his counterpart. "All of this is thanks to you. If you didn't force Peter to confess, Sirius would still be on the run, unable to do as much as step one foot out the door. He owes you..."

"No he doesn't!" the older boy interrupted. "Sirius doesn't owe me anything. I only did what I had to."

"You didn't _have_ to do anything for Sirius." The fifteen year old said, "You saved his life, gave him back his future. Don't tell yourself you don't deserve the gratitude."

The older boy chuckled darkly.

"I know exactly what I _deserve_," He answered, "and it's not gratitude."

The younger Harry fell silent, not knowing how to respond. A few moments of silence passed before the older Harry spoke, his voice quiet and full of remorse.

"Everything that happened to Sirius in this universe, everything he suffered, all the pain he went through, all those years in Azkaban; I wanted this for him." He went quiet for a moment at the confession. He looked around at his younger counterpart. He wanted him to fully understand what he was admitting. "I wanted this to happen to him; Sirius Black sent to Azkaban, framed for the murder of James Potter, his best friend; a murder that he hadn't committed." The words were costing Harry a lot but he pushed them out, wanting to say it out loud. "I wanted this to be his fate and I came close to succeeding too. I almost achieved my goal in killing my dad and framing Sirius for it." His voice had reduced to a whisper by this point. He looked up at the fifteen year old and raised his voice, trying to sound normal again. "So you can stop thanking me since in another world, in another universe, I wanted the same torture for Sirius."

The younger Harry didn't know what to say. His mouth had gone dry at hearing his counterpart's confession and as much as he tried fighting it, he couldn't extinguish the fiery rage that had engulfed him at the thought of what this other Harry had tried to do to Sirius and his dad.

"What stopped you?" he asked, wanting to know how Sirius and James survived.

"Nothing," the older boy responded, "nothing stopped me. That's the problem." He rubbed at his head, grimacing in pain before he forced himself to continue. "I did all I could; I tricked dad and took him away from Hogwarts. I hurt him, tortured him for almost an hour before I threw him over the edge of a cliff." The guilt that accompanied the words was so strong that the younger Harry could almost feel it himself. He realised the day his counterpart was referring to was the memory he had refused to see in the pensieve. He had pushed that memory away, having already been told by Damien what had happened. He hadn't wanted to see his other dimensional self hurting his father. "Sirius saved dad, he cushioned his fall, saved his life and consequently saved his own." The older Harry continued. "Otherwise I would have succeeded."

"Why are you telling me this?" the younger Harry asked. He knew, from talking with Damien, that his counterpart had never discussed _that_ day with anyone. So why was he volunteering this information to him?

The older Harry looked around at him, gazing intently at him before he answered.

"Because I want _you_ to at least know why I did what I did for Sirius." He answered. "I don't want to be painted as a hero because I'm the anything but one." He looked away again, his expression one of both anger and hurt. "I'm so sick of everyone praising me! Half the time, no one knows what drives me to do the things I do. My intentions are never to serve anyone other than me, but no one ever believes that!" he shook his head angrily, running a hand through his dark messy locks. "I cleared Sirius' name, not because I care for him, or because he's my dad's best friend! I cleared his name because I wanted to free _myself_ from guilt! Because I want to be able to look at him and not remember how close I came to ruining his life! Because I want to finally repay him for everything he did; forgiving me for torturing him, for letting Bella go, for everything he did to help me! That's why I cleared his name, not for him but for me!"

The younger Harry looked calmly at his older counterpart. "You're not selfish, Harry, however much you tell yourself you are." He stated simply.

"Were you not listening?" the eighteen year old asked with annoyance.

The other Harry smiled.

"I was and I would have believed you if I hadn't watched a lot of your memories." The younger boy said as he looked straight at his older self. "You claim to only do things that benefit you, so when you saved Ginny's life in Hogsmeade, did you do that for yourself?" he asked seriously. The eighteen year old didn't answer. "When you refused to kill Alice Longbottom because you couldn't harm her unborn child, was that for yourself? What about Madame Pomfrey's children? Did you save them from that fire for yourself?" Harry asked. "What you had planned to do to dad and Sirius was...appalling," the fifteen year old said, "no one is denying that. But you had your reasons and in any case, you didn't succeed in taking your revenge. That's all that matters."

The eighteen year old rubbed at his head, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath.

"It's not as easy as that." He said.

"I never said it was easy." The younger Harry responded. "And it'll probably never get any easier. You'll always feel some sort of guilt at almost killing dad and ruining Sirius' life, and maybe you deserve that guilt." Harry watched his older self nod his head, agreeing with him. "But that doesn't mean you have to pretend that every good thing you do for them is because of your guilt. You can admit that you did what you did because you care, for dad and for Sirius. You don't have to pretend otherwise."

"I'm not pretending." The older Harry said at once. "It's others who pretend not to see the real me."

"The _real_ you?" younger Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"A dark wizard." Harry answered without emotion. "Mum and dad ignore it, Damien deals with it as best he can, Ginny denies it but I'm the only one who accepts it." Harry said. "Of course there are those, like Fudge and Dumbledore, who know what I'm capable of but they don't know how to contain it. Dumbledore wants to utilise me whereas Fudge wants me destroyed."

"Just because you were taught how to do dark magic, doesn't mean you're a dark wizard." The younger Harry objected.

"I know the extent of my darkness. I used it like a weapon against Voldemort, it's what destroyed him." the older Harry said.

"That may be the way you see it." the fifteen year old said. "But to me, it seems the opposite. You destroyed Voldemort, not by your darkness, your hate or even desire for revenge. You destroyed him when you thought he had killed Damien. It was your love for your brother that gave you what you needed to destroy Voldemort." The younger Harry said. "And I don't believe love can be dark. It was your love for your family, the pain of missing out on the love of your true parents that gave you what you needed to finish Voldemort."

The older Harry stared at his younger counterpart, wanting desperately to believe him. His explanation was much more comforting. He thought about all the times he destroyed Voldemort's Horcruxes and he realised something. Every time he destroyed a piece of Voldemort's soul, he had thought about someone he loved.

He had used the memory of seeing the photographs, hidden deep in his parents' room. The pictures of the loving people he had been snatched away from. He had thought about James and Lily and how much they loved him and how he was made to believe that they didn't care about him, just before the fiery rage consumed him and he destroyed the Horcrux before him. He even thought about his father Voldemort, once, before he destroyed his Horcrux. He had remembered the care and love he was shown by Voldemort and at that time Harry believed it was all lies. The last Horcrux was destroyed when Harry thought about Bella, and how he had lost her. He loved Bella, he _still_ loved her and it was the pain of losing someone he loved so dearly that gave him what he needed to destroy the last Horcrux. As for Voldemort, Harry knew he did what he did because he thought he had lost Damien.

So was it true? Did his darkness give him his power? Or was love really the driving force behind his exceptionally powerful magic? Harry honestly didn't know.

The younger boy sat watching his older self, obviously lost in thought. He shrugged at him.

"That's what I believe, regardless of what you think." He said.

Eighteen year old Harry smiled a little and looked away. His chest was throbbing painfully and as his withdrawal got stronger, he felt weaker.

"Now, if you're done hiding, can we go downstairs?" the fifteen year old asked.

"I'm not hiding." The older Harry objected.

"Of course," the younger Harry mocked, "you're not hiding. You're up here for the lovely, albeit very fabricated, city view."

The older Harry turned to glare at him.

"I was up here for the _peace_ and _quiet_." He emphasised the words.

"Well, tough luck finding it here." The younger Harry said with a smile.

Both Harrys got to their feet. The older boy struggled a little with the simple task, making the younger Harry look worriedly at him. Wincing at the pain in his chest and head, eighteen year old Harry straightened up.

"Maybe you should have stayed in your room." The fifteen year old said, reaching out to help steady his counterpart.

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to all those stairs." Harry replied, willing the room to stop swaying.

"So apparate." The younger Harry suggested.

"Can't," his older counterpart replied, sounding a little breathless. "It...too much...energy."

The younger Harry led his older self out of the room, keeping a tight grip on his arm. As the boys left the room, the illusion ended and the room changed back to a dusty, dark room.

xxx

Both Harry's had just reached the second landing when they ran into Damien. The hazel eyed boy had been checking the rooms for his brother. He stopped mid action when he saw both Harrys come down the steps.

The older Harry stopped in his tracks too, surprised to see Damien in the middle of the landing. The fifteen year old Harry quickly let go of his older self and for a moment just stood there in silence.

Damien didn't say anything but was visibly relieved to see his brother.

"I'm just going to...go." the fifteen year old said and left, walking quickly past Damien. He knew the brothers needed to talk and he preferred not to be there.

Damien was staring at Harry. He saw the pale complexion, tired eyes and fatigued stance. He felt his heart jump at the sight of his strong and powerful brother looking so worn out.

"Where were you?" he found himself asking.

Harry looked annoyed at the question.

"Why?" he asked. Then tiredly he added, "I needed some air." He looked carefully at his younger brother. "Were you looking for me?"

Damien dropped his gaze to the ground.

"I just, I wanted to check on you. See if you were okay." He said.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Harry asked.

Damien looked up at him, his hazel eyes narrowed at him.

"Because you were nearly trampled over by a half giant!" he reminded.

Harry smirked back.

"Oh, that! Not a big deal." He brushed it off.

Damien stared at him for a moment.

"Well, if you're fine then I better get going." He turned around to leave when Harry stopped him.

"Damy," Harry called. "How long are you going to stay mad at me?" he asked. "Just so that I know."

Damien turned back to glare at him.

"You find this funny?" he asked.

"No, I find it annoying, actually." Harry answered. "But I know you're going to hold a grudge so it's better that I let you get it out of your system, before I try talking to you."

"Out of my system?" Damien asked angrily. "You're a real piece of work, you know that!?"

Harry just looked at him, head tilted to the side as he studied him.

"I would guess about four days, maybe five." He said and walked towards his room.

"How about, forever?!" Damien corrected.

Harry stopped at his door and looked at him.

"You're going to stop talking to me completely, just because I sent a curse at you that wouldn't have hurt you in any way?" he asked.

Damien's eyes widened with anger.

"Are you really this thick?" he asked. "You think that's why I'm mad at you?"

"Aren't you?" Harry asked.

"No!" Damien yelled, not caring that he might wake up the portrait of Mrs Black. "No, you idiot! I'm not mad at you because you sent a bogus killing curse my way! You already showed me that it wouldn't work!"

"So, why are you mad at me?" Harry asked, genuinely lost.

"Because you kept me in the dark!" Damien answered angrily. "You know, what you hate others doing to you!"

Harry's expression darkened and he glared at Damien.

"Hold up," he growled. "There's a big difference in what I did to you and what happened to me!"

"In your head, maybe!" Damien replied. "You purposefully kept the truth from me. You told everyone around me but didn't bother telling me!"

"Yeah, because I was trying to protect you!" Harry returned.

"Protect me in what way?" Damien asked. "You should know me by now, Harry! You should have known I wouldn't get scared and run. I'm not a coward!"

"I know that!" Harry returned. "And that's why I was afraid. I didn't want you getting in the way. I needed you to be safe and I don't regret what I did. If I had to, I'd do it a thousand times over!"

Damien stared at him.

"You went to see dad, to reassure him that you were only pretending, that you weren't really with Voldemort." Damien said. "I was in the next room, Harry. Didn't you care what I was going through? Seeing you back with Voldemort, the way you acted..." he trailed off, not able to finish.

Harry's expression changed then and he looked ashamedly at his brother.

"Damy, look..."

"Forget it, Harry. I'm not interested." Damien said. "You just said you would do the same thing again. If you don't think what you did was wrong, then there's no point in talking to you." Damien turned to leave.

"Damien!" Harry called, not wanting him to leave.

"Don't talk to me, Harry. Just leave it." Damien replied, heading to the stairs.

"Damy!" Harry called again. "D-Damy."

The sudden change in Harry's voice made Damien stop in his tracks. Harry's voice had become breathless all of a sudden.

Damien turned to see Harry's face rapidly lose colour. An expression of pain flitted over his features and he looked wide eyed at Damien.

"Harry?" Damien started, stepping towards him.

Suddenly, without warning, Harry's knees buckled under him and he fell.

"Harry!" Damien yelled and darted towards him. He caught him just before he hit the ground. Damien grabbed onto his brother. "Harry! Harry, what's wrong?!" he asked.

Harry couldn't breathe. He gasped painfully to try and fill his lungs with air but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.

He began coughing, his eyes watering with the violent coughs but still he couldn't breathe properly. Harry brought his hand away from his mouth and was stunned to see it stained red. He had coughed up blood. Damien looked on in horror.

"Harry! Harry!" Damien's yells filled Harry's ears but he couldn't respond.

The last thing he heard was Mrs Blacks shrill screams start somewhere on the ground floor and Damien's panicked voice still calling out his name, before he lost consciousness.

xxx

Harry slowly came around to see the three distressed faces of his family members surrounding him. He realised that he was lying down in a bed. Groaning, Harry tried to pull himself to sit up. James and Damien instantly helped him sit up, while Lily looked on in worry.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his voice wheezing.

"You collapsed." James answered, sitting next to him on the bed. "How do you feel now?"

Harry took a moment to figure out exactly how he was feeling. His chest felt like it was on fire and he still couldn't breathe properly. He shook his head and brought a hand up to his forehead. It throbbed horribly.

"I don't know." He answered a little dazedly.

With difficulty, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. He straightened up fully when he felt his breathing becoming more strained. He dropped his head into his hands and tried to take in a full proper breath but found that he couldn't.

He felt James put a hand on his shoulder in concern.

"Can't...breathe!" Harry managed to choke out.

"Right, that's it." Lily said, "We're going to the hospital." She picked up James' cloak but was intending to wrap it around Harry.

Harry shook his head in weakened protest.

"No..." he coughed. "No...hospital." he managed.

"You can't _breathe_, Harry! And you coughed up blood! You need to go to the hospital." She said, leaving no room for argument.

Harry lifted his head up when he felt the wetness drip from his nose again.

"Crap!" he muttered as his nose began to bleed.

Damien suddenly came towards him and kneeled on the ground before Harry. Gently he tilted Harry's head back so he could see the nosebleed.

"Has that started again?" he asked as he grabbed a tissue and held it against Harry's nose.

"You knew about the nosebleeds?!" Lily asked, surprised.

Damien twisted up to look at Lily.

"You didn't?" he asked. "God, mum, where have you been?" he asked.

Lily shared an ashamed look with James but neither parent said anything.

"When did the withdrawal start?" Damien asked Harry.

Harry shook his head, as best as he could.

"It's...c-complicated." He answered.

"Come on, Harry. We're going to St Mungos." James prompted.

"No...cause...problems." Harry said, coughing again.

"No it won't." James argued. "If anyone asks about us, we'll tell them we're under glamour under the Ministry's orders. If they ask Fudge, which I doubt, he already knows about us and will probably tell them it's fine."

Harry looked at James strangely and shook his head resolutely.

"No."

"Harry...!" James started, losing his patience. Harry's coughing cut him off.

"Poppy!" Harry managed to say, taking great big gulps of air and forcing it into his aching lungs. "Poppy!"

Lily looked at James, clearly unhappy.

"I don't think she can handle this. You need to go to a hospital." She said. "You might need a procedure of some sort that only the hospital can do."

But Harry shook his head, closing his eyes to try and deal with the agony he was in. He could feel his entire body shudder under the grip of his fever. His chest throbbed and burned and he felt light headed with the lack of oxygen he was getting.

"Poppy." He argued stubbornly. If he had to see a Healer, it would be Poppy.

"Alright, Poppy it is then." James said, "Come on, Harry."

Harry tried to stand up but Damien had to help him get to his feet.

"Okay," Lily relented, looking terrified at how pale Harry had become. "Hogwarts, now!"

xxx

Poppy took Harry into the hospital wing, leaving James, Lily and Damien out in the corridor to worry endlessly. It was now past eleven at night, so there was no danger of any student spotting them. Poppy hadn't looked the least bit surprised to see them. Dumbledore had obviously told her about the other dimensional visitors. She had simply rushed Harry into the hospital wing and began running diagnostic tests.

Damien couldn't sit and was pacing the corridor, his hands nervously rubbing against each other. James and Lily were sitting down on the white benches, not speaking at all. They were too worried to say a word.

Al long last the door opened and Poppy gestured for them to come inside. As soon as the three Potters walked inside, they searched the wing to spot Harry. There was only one bed occupied, with the white curtains still pulled around it. Otherwise, the wing was empty.

"How is he? Is he okay?" James asked.

Poppy nodded reassuringly at the family.

"He's fine. He's doing great."

The Potters let out breaths of relief and silently thanked God that Harry was okay.

"What was wrong with him? He was having trouble breathing." Lily asked.

"Harry was suffering from something called Pulmonary Oedema. In basic terms, his lungs were filling up with fluid. That's why he was having trouble breathing and the reason he was bringing up blood." Poppy replied. "I've drained the fluid, so he should be able to breathe better now. Pulmonary Oedema can happen when the body is fighting a severe infection." She looked back at the curtained area before looking back at James. "I learned Harry is in Phase one of addiction." She said. "He told me he's currently going through a withdrawal. It is common to be fairly unwell in the last stages of phase one addiction, since the body starts to fight the withdrawal and it can be really intense. The Pulmonary Oedema could be caused by this, although I have never seen it happen before."

James didn't say anything but he doubted that the cause was the withdrawal alone. It was more likely the Moratus Charm that Harry had done that caused the withdrawal to get so intense it caused Pulmonary Oedema.

"During the examination, I noted the third degree burn on his chest." Madame Pomfrey continued. "In some extreme cases of internal bruising, it can cause Pulmonary Oedema as well. The pressure of the internal bruise can push fluid into the lungs. I've not been able to diagnose exactly what the cause of the Pulmonary Oedema was. It could be a complication of his withdrawal or internal bruising or even both." She paused and looked straight at James. "I understand you wish to have him discharged as soon as possible?"

"Yes." James replied.

"I would prefer it if Harry could stay, so I can monitor him. I'm concerned about his burn wound." The nurse said. "It's almost midnight. Even if he stays the rest of the night and if all is well, he can be discharged in the morning."

"Harry won't stay. It was a mission to get him to come in the first place." Lily replied. "He's not comfortable here."

The school nurse didn't look happy but she nodded her head.

"Whatever makes the patient happy." she sighed. "I have prescribed the required salve. Please ensure that it is regularly applied, every three to four hours. You must ensure the wound does not become septic. A wound that size, if infected, could put him in Septic shock." She warned.

"We'll make sure it heals properly." Lily assured, silently pledging to herself that she would not move from Harry's side until he was healed.

"Okay, here is the list of medication he requires and the salve. Once he wakes up, you are free to take him home." Poppy said.

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey!" the Potter family gushed with gratitude.

xxx

Harry woke up sometime at night. As soon as he opened his eyes, he knew the last of the Moratus charm had worn off. His temporary reprieve from his withdrawal was over and he was not looking forward to suffering from the effects.

He was relieved when he found he could breathe again. But the agony coursing through his body made him groan in anguish. He closed his eyes and tried to work his mind through it but all he could feel was pain.

"Thirsty?"

Harry jumped at the sound and peered in the darkness to see who it was. He recognised the voice a moment later.

"Damy?" he rasped.

Damien moved forward with a glass of water. In the limited light, Harry made out his brother's form, sitting in the chair next to him. He gratefully took the offered glass.

"Just sip it." Damien instructed, "Otherwise you'll be sick."

Harry could only manage to sip the water as his throat felt awfully raw and tender.

"Are we still at Hogwarts?" Harry asked, slowly recognising his surroundings.

Damien nodded as he took the glass of water from Harry and put it back on the bedside table.

"Yeah, we were waiting for you to wake up but it seemed you were too comfortable. You were out for the count."

Damien didn't know that Harry hadn't slept properly since being kidnapped by Voldemort. Harry didn't offer the information either.

"Mum and dad?" Harry asked.

Damien looked behind him, prompting Harry to look too. Both James and Lily were sitting in chairs and both were deeply asleep. They looked dreadfully uncomfortable.

"That's going to hurt in the morning." Damien commented, looking in particular at James' slumped form.

"What time is it?" Harry asked.

"About four in the morning." Damien answered.

"So why are you still awake?" Harry asked.

Damien studied Harry for a moment before he answered.

"Someone had to stay awake to look after you." he said. "I knew you would be thirsty when you woke up, seeing as your fever is rocket high and I wasn't sure if you would be able to get up, to get water so, I thought I should stay up and make sure you get a drink."

"You stayed up just to get me a something to drink?" Harry asked. "Wow, sounds like someone cares." He teased.

Damien gave him a look.

"Don't think that this means I'm not mad at you." Damien said, "I'm still angry." He looked down at his hands. "It's just, it's hard to be mad at you when you're sick as a dog!"

Harry laughed which quickly turned into a painful cough. Damien was up on his feet and next to Harry in seconds. Harry felt the water he had drank come up and he was sick. Damien cleared it with a spell, easing Harry to rest against the pillows.

He eyed Harry furiously, who was trying to get his breath back.

"I hope it was worth it." Damien said annoyed. "The reason you cast a Moratus charm on yourself and ended up in this state! I hope it was all worth it!"

"It was totally worth it." Harry answered back, sounding a bit breathless.

Damien glared at Harry.

"Did you take a double helping of stupid pills?" he asked.

"No, I just took yours instead." Harry replied.

Damien shook his head at him.

"I've never done anything this brainless!" Damien retorted.

"I doubt that." Harry responded.

"Did you not realise how sick you could become after the Moratus Charm wears off? Why did you do it?" Damien asked.

"Because I was desperate." Harry replied evenly.

Damien stopped for a moment then and just looked at Harry.

"Yeah, I guess you really were desperate." He looked down at his hands again. "For your sake, I'm glad it all worked out." He said in a small voice. "After everything you did and went through, at least you got him." he allowed a small smile to grace his face. "I have to admit, you got Voldemort good."

Harry didn't smile and instead looked away from Damien.

"I didn't plan to do any of this to him." Harry replied.

"What?" Damien asked, surprised.

"When he did that memory charm on me, I played along to see what exactly he wanted from me. I had already made sure he couldn't get the prophecy but I wanted to see what else he had planned for me. At that point I hadn't intended to get him caught, or reduce his numbers or even reveal his hideouts."

"So why did you do it then?" Damien asked.

Harry looked at him, an intense look in his eyes.

"Because he tried to kill you." Harry answered simply.

Damien wasn't expecting that as an answer. It came as a bit of a shock to him that Voldemort's downfall was arranged by Harry because the dark wizard had tried to have him killed.

"You mean when he ordered you to kill me in Diagon Alley?" he asked.

Harry closed his eyes, wincing in pain and shook his head.

"After the raid in Diagon Alley," he said in a voice that told Damien he was in extreme pain. "He tried to send me after you, as an assignment." Harry explained, breathlessly. "He gave me an order, so I couldn't refuse it but I did anyway." Harry clenched his teeth but it did nothing to the furious burn in his body. "That's why, I wanted you to leave. I knew that Voldemort would order a Death Eater to do, what I had refused." He looked Damien in the eyes. "I went to see dad that night, to ask him to take you back home. You were in Voldemort's sight and I had to get you out before he made a move on you."

Damien could see the pain in his brother. His face had lost colour and his breathing was becoming strained again. His fists were clenched around the bedspread so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Even then, Harry was trying to explain his actions to him, to make him understand why he did what he did. Damien suddenly felt very foolish for holding a grudge against him.

"Harry..." he started.

"I'm sorry," Harry panted, clearly in pain. "I'm sorry that I didn't come to you. I had to get you out! I had to keep you safe!" Harry tried to explain. His eyes closed again as he struggled desperately to anchor his pain in some way, so he could deal with it. "I had to get you away! I needed you to go back...!"

"Harry."

Harry felt his fist being pulled away from the bed and a warm hand clasping around it. He curled his fingers around the hand tightly and forced his eyes to open. Damien was sitting next to him.

"Don't apologise," Damien said, cheeks tinged red with shame. His brother _never_ apologised for _anything_. "All you did was look after me. It's all you've ever done."

"That's what...big brothers do, right?" Harry asked, his chest burning in excruciating pain.

"Yeah," Damien agreed, smiling his usual trademark smile. "But it's time that I look after you, just temporarily, until you get better."

Harry pushed himself further into the bed in agony.

"You're going to play big brother?" he asked, a pained smile on his face.

"Why not? It sounds like fun." Damien replied.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't think he could take the pain much longer. He felt Damien pull down the blanket and undo the buttons of the shirt he was wearing. Harry opened his eyes and saw Damien peel away the temporary dressing on his chest and look at the horrid wound.

Before Harry could ask what he was doing, Damien had grabbed the large glass jar of salve and was taking out a handful of the white cream. Gently, Damien applied the salve onto the wound.

At once a blissful cooling effect spread across Harry's chest and he relaxed at once. The pain diminished almost completely and Harry breathed in relief.

"Better?" Damien asked.

Harry didn't answer and chose to just stay still, with his eyes closed. Somehow, he fell asleep, even before Damien had finished applying the salve. Damien covered Harry's chest with the dressing and redid Harry's buttons, before pulling the blanket over him. He stared at Harry's sweat soaked face and felt his heart miss a beat again.

He picked up the cloth he had been using to try and lower Harry's temperature. He had hid the cloth as soon as Harry had stirred and woken up. He shook his head at his own childishness. He had been angry at Harry and he wanted Harry to know it, but he loved Harry too darn much to just sit back and watch him suffer. So he was doing all he could to take care of Harry but without the boy being aware of it.

Damien used the cloth to wipe away the sweat clinging to his brother's face before casting the cooling charm on the cloth again and placed it on Harry's burning forehead. He was going to look after Harry until his parents woke up, even if that meant he had to stay up all night.

Just as the thought passed his mind, he heard Lily stir. Damien quickly fell back in his seat and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He didn't want his parents to know he had been up all night, looking after Harry, either.

xxx

Harry was brought back to the Headquarters early the next morning. The seventeen year old Ginny had been beside herself with worry. She rushed to greet the Potter family as they emerged from the floo.

"I thought you left without me!" Ginny told them. She looked at Harry and seeing the state the boy was in, she quickly rushed to his side.

"We took him to Hogwarts, to have Poppy check him out." Lily explained to her.

Harry was led upstairs and given strict orders from Lily, to stay in bed. Harry was only too happy to oblige and gratefully tucked himself in, falling into a fevered sleep almost at once.

James, Lily, Damien and Ginny gathered in a group to discuss their returning home.

"I don't think he should travel in this state." Lily said worriedly. "The compass pulls energy from those who use it, to fuel the journey." She glanced back worriedly at the sleeping boy. "He needs all the energy he has to heal."

"I agree," Damien added. "I think we should stay until Harry is better. It'll only be a few days more."

"But what about the Dimensional Equilibrium?" Ginny asked. "We've already been here five days now. _Can_ we stay for longer?"

James and Lily looked at each other.

"I honestly don't know." James said. "No one has ever travelled to other dimensions before, and if they have it hasn't been documented." He shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know how long we can stay without causing complications."

"Harry seems to think it's weeks if not months." Damien supplied.

The four lapsed into silence, just looking from one to the other.

"Okay, so we're staying?" Lily confirmed.

"Until Harry gets better." Ginny said.

"Right," James agreed, "until Harry gets better."

xxx

Harry spent the next few days in a haze of pain. His fever continued to peak and he was barely conscious most of the time. James, Lily, Damien and the seventeen year old Ginny all took on the responsibility of making sure Harry's burn was treated by the salve Poppy had prescribed. Harry was unable to take and keep down any potions so his carers had to resort to other methods to keep him comfortable.

The cold packs were charmed to stay cold and worked to temporarily bring down Harry's temperature. The salve gave Harry a much needed reprieve from the pain of the agonising burn on his chest. Lily would spend hours kneading and massaging Harry's aching muscles, which the fever caused.

The rest of the occupants of 12 Grimmauld Place stood back and watched in a mixture of horror and concern. The fifteen year old Harry was initially overjoyed that his parents were staying for a few days longer but when he saw the reason why, he wished different. He had never seen anyone so ill before. He went up to check on Harry one day and he walked in to find Damien applying the salve on Harry's chest. The fifteen year old caught a glimpse of the burn wound. It looked so painful; Harry could only wonder how his counterpart was dealing with it without a drop of pain relief.

Ron, Hermione and fourteen year old Ginny wanted to see how the eighteen year old counterpart of their best friend was coping. After three days of them wanting to see him, James finally allowed them.

Ron and Hermione sat next to Harry, while the fourteen year old Ginny sat across from her older self. Harry was still feverous and couldn't talk very much without going into a fit of coughs. Fluid continued to fill his lungs, making it harder for Harry to breathe and every time he coughed, he would bring up pinkish fluid or blood. James had taken Harry to Hogwarts twice in the last few days to allow Poppy to drain the fluid from his lungs.

Seventeen year old Ginny explained to Ron, Hermione and her younger self about the Moratus charm, which was to blame for Harry's current state.

"That's terrible!" Hermione admonished Harry at once. "What were you thinking?!"

Harry, who was sitting up in his bed, rolled his eyes at her.

"Just relax, Hermione." He managed to say in a raspy voice, before coughing.

"You could have potentially killed yourself!" she returned. "You're having problems breathing! Do you know how dangerous that is? If the brain is deprived of oxygen for even a few seconds, it could kill you! Or it can lead to brain damage!" she explained.

"That's not a problem for Harry." Damien replied. He looked straight at his brother. "He needs a brain before it can be damaged." He smirked.

The eighteen year old tilted his head to the side and glared at his brother before raising his hand and giving Damien the middle finger.

Damien couldn't help but laugh at the expression and soon the others joined in, glad that the brothers weren't fighting but only being playful.

Finally, after five days of agony, Harry's withdrawal died away, leaving the boy to recover. Everyone was thankful and Lily even got a little teary with relief. By the seventh day, Harry was back on his feet and that meant, they were ready to go home.

xxx

"I think after breakfast will be a good time." James told Lily as they prepared the small amount of belongings they had brought with them.

The red haired woman nodded tightly and stuffed her extra pair of shoes into the small bag.

"I guess, it doesn't really matter." She looked around for her outdoor cloak and found it hanging behind the door. She picked it up and put it carefully next to her bag.

"You're going to have to pack for the boys because they are sure to forget something." James said as he zipped up his small bag.

Lily nodded again, looking around for more of her stuff.

"Yeah, I will. I'll make sure they get everything." She said distractedly.

"Lily," James called, sensing his wife was upset. "Are you okay?"

Lily looked up at him.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" she said.

She turned and grabbed a dark blue top and began stuffing it into her bag.

"Honey," James called to her. "That's Harry's top."

Lily stopped and pulled the garment out, realising it was a top belonging to the fifteen year old Harry. She held the garment in her hands but found she didn't want to let it go.

"Lily?" James walked over to her when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Oh God, James," Lily sobbed. "I don't think I can leave him." She tightened her grip on the blue fabric and held it to her chest. "I don't want to leave him, again!" she cried.

James took her into his arms and held her close, letting her cry into his chest.

"I know, I don't want to leave him either." He said, speaking honestly. "If I could, I would take him back with us."

"Why don't we?" Lily asked with a sniff, pulling away to speak to him. "We've been here for almost two weeks and nothing has happened. Maybe there is no Dimensional Equilibrium! Maybe it's all theoretical but in reality it makes no difference! We should just take Harry with us! He's our son too; we should be able to take him!"

"Lily, honey," James cut across her, trying to calm her. "You know that we can't. Harry can't come with us, even if there is no such thing as Dimensional Equilibriums."

"Why not?!" Lily asked emotionally.

"Honey, he wasn't born in our world. He was born in _this_ world. Here is where he _belongs_."

Lily looked at James for a moment.

"He belongs with his family." She corrected.

"He'll always be with us, Lily. No one can take him away from our hearts. And it's not like we'll never come back here to visit him." James said with a smile.

"We're not going to give the compass to the Minister?" Lily asked surprised.

"Honey, Diggory was never going to get the compass." James smirked.

Lily smiled and pulled away from her husband's arms.

"So, we're going to come to visit Harry?" she confirmed.

"All the time." James promised.

Lily smiled brightly and turned to her packing, a lot happier now.

xxx

In the kitchen, both Harrys were deep in talk. The fifteen year old was busy preparing breakfast, while the older Harry sat on the worktop, watching him.

"So, you actually like doing all this work?" the eighteen year old asked as the younger Harry popped the eggs into boiling water.

"I don't mind it." the fifteen year old answered. "It's not fair that mum and Mrs Weasley do all the cooking, all the time." He argued. He shrugged at the look he was receiving from the other Harry. "I don't know, I guess doing it at the Dursleys got me used to it."

The eighteen year old pursed his lips.

"Got you used to doing menial labour?" he asked annoyed.

The younger Harry gave his counterpart a funny look.

"They're called chores, Harry." He corrected. "And chores are good for you; they make you into a well rounded person."

"I like being rough and sharp edged." The older Harry grinned in response.

The fifteen year old ignored him and began buttering the toast.

"Cooking isn't bad. I don't mind it." He said. "Actually, when I was younger and didn't know I was a wizard, I quite liked the idea of becoming a chef when I was older." He smiled.

The older Harry pulled a face, wrinkling his nose is disgust.

"Really?" he asked. "A cook?"

The fifteen year old put down his knife and turned to him, exasperated.

"The next Dark Lord?" he asked in retaliation, "_Really_?"

The eighteen year old just stared at his counterpart, his lips twitching to curve into a smile but he resisted. Finally he nodded in acknowledgment.

"You win."

The fifteen year old turned back to his stack of toast and resumed his job of buttering them.

"Anyway, now that I know I'm a wizard, I can look for a more exciting career." He continued.

"Any ideas what you're going to do?" eighteen year old Harry asked.

The younger boy shrugged.

"I like the idea of being an Auror." He glanced sideways at his counterpart and saw the glare. "Look at me like that all you want, I'm still trying out for an Auror." He told him.

"Not in this lifetime, you're not!" his older self growled.

"Oh, really?" the fifteen year old asked, turning to face him. "What are you going to do?"

"Knock some sense into you." The older boy declared.

"Try it!" the younger one dared, but with a cheeky smile. "I'm the only one you can't defeat!" he declared.

The older Harry didn't fight the statement.

"You are the only one to ever disarm me," he admitted, "and the only one to block me with your magic." He gave his younger self an approving look. "You have so much potential." He complimented. "Don't ruin it by working for the Ministry!"

The younger boy turned to him with a sigh.

"What about you?" he asked. "What are you going to do with your life, with your magic?" he asked. "You have a lot of potential, what are you going to do with it?"

The question made Harry think. What did he want to do with himself? He had a quiet few moments to himself, thinking about what he liked doing and what he would like to do?

"Hey, Harry." The younger boy said to his older self. "Make yourself useful and go put these on the table." he handed Harry the plate of toasts and peeled boiled eggs.

Harry sighed and jumped off the worktops, grabbing the plates.

"I may as well. Otherwise you'll claim all the credit for making breakfast."

The fifteen year old turned to stare incredulously at him.

"I _did_ make all the breakfast." He pointed out.

"See!" the older Harry teased and grabbed a toast off the plate and began eating it, as he disappeared into the next room.

xxx

Harry and Damien were told to go upstairs and pack their belongings as soon as breakfast was over. Mrs Weasley gathered the dishes and turned to the kitchen to wash up. She had returned to the Burrow but came every morning to see James and Lily and the other dimensional form of her only daughter.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all returned to Hogwarts last week. They had said their emotional goodbyes to the eighteen year old Harry, when he was still recovering from his horrendous withdrawal.

The younger Harry went upstairs with Damien, Harry and Ginny, to keep them company as they packed. Sirius and Remus were eager to speak with James before he left to go back. Lily was left on her own. For a few moments she just sat at the table, gathering her nerves to return home, without the sweet, good natured, fifteen year old Harry she had come to love so much.

"Troubling thoughts?" came a voice from the doorway.

Lily smiled and turned to the face the newcomer.

"Something like that." She replied.

Snape smiled and walked into the room.

"I heard you were leaving today." He said in his usual tone, although a hint of sadness crept into his voice.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Dumbledore informed me." Snape answered. "He has his spies hidden in various frames around the Headquarters. They come and go between here and Hogwarts with information."

Lily realised that was how Dumbledore found out about Harry's _stole my thunder_ comment.

"I would have told Dumbledore we were leaving." Lily said. "He doesn't have to spy on us."

Snape smirked, his lips curling.

"That's just how the Headmaster likes to work." He said. He looked around the room, his dark eyes narrowed. "Where's that big headed husband of yours and his mutt?" he asked.

Lily looked disappointedly at him but answered.

"They're in the other room."

Snape smirked.

"Saying their final goodbyes, are they?"

Lily shook her head.

"There's nothing final about it. We'll be visiting every so often." She prodded Snape firmly in the chest with her finger. "So you better watch how you're treating my son in class. Otherwise you'll have an extremely irate mother to deal with."

Snape smiled.

"I'll look forward to it."

Lily playfully slapped him. Snape held onto her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over her hand.

"So, has everyone survived the run in with the Dark Lord?" he asked conversationally.

"Yes, thank you for asking, two weeks later!" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"And the Prince of Darkness?" Snape asked sarcastically. "How has he been?"

"Actually, it's Dark Prince!" came Harry's voice from behind him. Snape and Lily looked around at the door to see the eighteen year old leaning against the doorframe, his smirk firmly in place. "You've _got_ to get the name right!" he told Snape. He straightened up and walked towards them. "And I'm fine, thank you for asking!" he added sarcastically.

The Potions master turned to face Harry, his own smirk in place.

"Well done, Mr Potter," he said in his usual condescending tone. "You're performance with the Dark Lord was award worthy." He sneered at him. "One has to wonder where you learned such skills. We're grateful you don't perform such _acts_ in our company."

"You should just be grateful I didn't order you in that warehouse with the rest of the Death Eaters." Harry hissed at him as he walked past him.

Snape turned to follow Harry with narrowed eyes.

"And as thankful as I am, I have to wonder why you felt so charitable?" he asked derisively.

Harry shared a look with Lily.

"Just believe that I was repaying a debt to you." He answered. He had kept Snape away from the warehouse and the Ministry since the Snape in his world had risked life and limb to save him in Riddle Manor. And he had protected Damien.

Snape looked surprised.

Lily walked towards the table, picking up the spare plates to take them into the kitchen, she left the two wizards alone.

"It seems you have an interesting story to tell, Mr Potter." Snape said.

"I'm done telling stories." Harry replied.

"That's unfortunate," Snape sneered. "It's not every day you meet the boy the Dark Lord brought up. You must have a very interesting history." He twirled his wand threateningly in his hand. "It's a shame you don't feel like sharing."

Harry knew what Snape was hinting at. He knew the talented Legimens wanted to see into his memories, learn what he could from forcefully invading his mind.

Harry smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaned back. He cursed silently in his mind as his chest flared up at the action. He locked his eyes with Snape, keeping his anger tightly locked in place.

"You like to read, don't you Snape?" Harry asked in a deadly quiet voice.

Snape stayed where he was, smirking at Harry.

"An intelligent mind needs to be stimulated." He answered.

Harry smirked back, unfurling his arms and stepping towards him.

"I couldn't help but notice the rather vast number of muggle books you have in your home." Harry said as he walked towards him. "I saw your collection when I went to see Peter, who was staying with you." He iterated. "A strange hobby for a Death Eater: to read muggle books." Harry continued, seeing the spark of anger in the dark eyes before him. "I reckoned you were familiar with them, seeing your father was a muggle." At the mention of his father, Snape bristled but he kept quiet. Harry smiled at the reaction. "But the thing that interested me was the subject matter of most of your books." He came to rest in front of Snape, who by now had lost his smirk. "Tell me something, according to most scholars, which sin is it that the seventh and most terrifying level of hell is reserved for?" Harry asked, feigning innocence.

Snape swallowed heavily but met the darkened green eyes resolutely.

"For those who betray." He answered.

Harry's eyes rapidly darkened as he took a further step towards him.

"Before you go snooping around in my past, perhaps you should revisit your own!" Harry hissed at him.

Snape felt his words die in his throat and he just stared at the boy standing before him. Harry stepped away from him, heading for the door.

"How did you find out?" Snape asked in a quiet voice.

"I made good use of my time with Voldemort." Harry answered. "He had mentioned to me that he had learned only half the prophecy and it was not from the source. It didn't take long to find out which Death Eater had run to him with information about the prophecy."

Snape could feel his heart beating painfully fast as he stared at Harry.

"Did you tell Lily?" he asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I didn't see the point of telling my mum someone she considers a best friend was responsible for betraying her to her enemy, resulting in getting her killed."

Snape flinched at the last word. He looked up to find Harry suddenly standing before him, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"I owed you a life debt, Snape, which I have repaid." Harry said in a low voice. "So if I see you anywhere near my mum again, I'll kill you." He promised.

Snape didn't say anything and without another word to him, he moved back and left, walking out of the door.

The door from the kitchen opened and Lily came out, holding a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits.

"Where did Severus go?" she asked, glancing around the room.

Harry closed his eyes, willing them to go back to their usual bright green before he turned to smile at his mum.

"He had to go, staff meeting or something like that." He said.

Lily looked disappointed.

"He could have stayed to say goodbye." she mumbled. "I made him tea."

"I'll have it." Harry said, taking the cup from her. "I'm always hungry." He smiled, picking up a biscuit from the plate.

Lily beamed at him. She had been worried crazy about him. He couldn't eat anything during his withdrawal which lasted longer than usual, due to the Moratus Charm. He had a lot to make up for.

She patted him lovingly on the cheek before turning back to the kitchen.

xxx

At last all bags were packed and the visitors were ready to return home. Everyone had gathered in the main living room to say their goodbyes.

Dumbledore had come to say goodbye but had kept out of Harry's way. He did bid him farewell, which Harry promptly ignored.

Just before Dumbledore took his leave, eighteen year old Harry turned to him.

"Dumbledore," he called out. "I realise I have still to say thank you to you." He admitted.

Dumbledore looked confused.

"For what, Mr Potter?" he asked.

"For allowing your school nurse to treat me." Harry replied. "I know it was you who told her she could heal me. After all, I'm not a student of Hogwarts. She could have refused to help me." Harry stared at the man he had insulted only a week ago.

The wizard smiled, his eyes twinkling at him.

"I assure you, I did nothing. Poppy is just the type of witch who helps everyone." He said.

"Well, could you pass on my gratitude to her?" Harry asked, knowing full well Dumbledore was lying. His staff would never do anything without his prior agreement.

"Of course." The Headmaster nodded with a smile.

Harry walked away then, but not before he saw his proud looking dad smiling at him.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts left shortly after, wanting to give the friends their privacy.

Sirius was very quiet and was just standing in the midst of the group, looking very lost. James was talking to him and Remus and although he kept nodding, he didn't look like he was paying much attention.

Lily walked over to Sirius and hugged him tightly. Sirius took her in a crushing hug, hiding his face in her shoulder. After a moment or two, she pulled away.

"Take care of yourself, Sirius." She said emotionally.

"I will," he returned. "You look after yourself as well."

"I'm leaving my son in your care, Sirius." She said. "Promise me that you will do everything in your power to care for him and protect him."

Sirius nodded furiously.

"I will, I promise Lily. I will die before I let anything harm him!" he promised.

"Don't do that, mate," James said, slapping a hand on his back. "Try and stay alive and look after him."

Lily turned to Remus next and hugged him too.

"Moony, look after Sirius." She said, half joking and half serious. "And please, please look after my Harry. I'm trusting both of you to take care of him." She said, her eyes starting to water.

"Don't worry, Lily." Remus returned, embracing his friend again. "We'll look after him, we promise."

Lily smiled at him and turned away to hug Molly, who assured her as well that her son would be well looked after. She turned from her and saw the fifteen year old standing next to Damien. He had the most heart breaking expression on his face. Lily walked over to the young Harry and for a moment she could nothing but stare at him.

Harry offered her a smile but it didn't fool her.

"Oh, Harry!" Lily hugged him, holding onto him like he was a life source. "I can't believe I'm doing this!" she sobbed as she let go of him. "I don't want to go without you." She told him and the boy nodded his head in understanding. "But you listen, Harry. We'll be back, we'll be back soon! Me and James will always come back to visit you." She promised.

Harry suddenly shook his head, surprising her and everyone who had been watching them.

"No," he said in a somewhat strong voice. "You won't. Don't come here again."

Lily looked at him in shock.

"You don't want us coming to see you?" she asked.

Harry shook his head again.

"No, I don't." He clarified.

James broke away from Remus and Sirius and walked over to the fifteen year old Harry and his wife.

"Harry?" he asked, gently taking his arm and turning him around to face him. "Why are you saying that?"

Harry looked at the two counterparts of his parents.

"I can't lose you," he said in a quiet voice. "I need you to be safe and for that, you can't come here." He explained. "After what happened, Voldemort is going to try and take revenge. If he finds out you're regularly visiting me, he'll target you." Harry shook his head again emotionally. "I won't be responsible for you both getting hurt, not again." He said.

"Harry..." James started.

"You have to destroy that compass once you get back." Harry said. He turned to look at his older counterpart who was quietly watching them. "You have to destroy it once you're home." He repeated directly to his counterpart. "You will do that, won't you?"

Eighteen year old Harry hesitated before nodding his head.

"Harry, we can't leave you here and not come back to see you!" Lily cried. "How can we do that?"

Harry smiled sadly at her.

"You'll figure out a way." He replied. "Never come back here, not until Voldemort is still here." He said. "It's too dangerous."

"And how are we supposed to leave you here, in danger, and go back?" James asked.

"You don't have a choice." Harry answered.

James looked at him for a moment.

"Come with us," Lily suddenly said. Harry looked over at her with a stunned expression. "You're right, Voldemort will want revenge and you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous, especially for you. Come with us, even if it's only for a week or two." She urged. "Until things calm down."

"It'll take longer than that for things to calm down, mum." Harry responded.

"But..." Lily started.

"Mum, it's fine." Harry cut across her. "I'm happy here, it's where I belong." He said. "I'm needed here mum. I can't leave." He whispered to her.

Lily didn't put up a fight then and sadly moved away from him, clearly upset. James embraced Harry, holding him close for long minutes. He kissed the top of his head and moved away without a word.

Damien came next and hugged the fifteen year old. Wordlessly, he slipped something into Harry's hand. Pulling away from the hazel eyed boy, Harry saw the mobile phone resting in his hand. He looked up at Damien, surprised.

"Anytime." Damien instructed and smiled at him.

Harry nodded his head, smiling too.

"Thank you." He whispered. If he couldn't be with them, at least he could speak with them whenever he wanted. That much was enough for him.

At last came his eighteen year old counterpart. Both Harrys just stood facing each other, neither boy saying anything. The younger Harry offered his hand.

"Thank you, Harry. For giving me a chance to visit your world." He said.

The eighteen year old shook the offered hand.

"Thank you." He said as well.

"Why are you thanking me?" the fifteen year old asked. "What did I do?"

The older Harry smiled before answering,

"Nothing," he answered. "You've done nothing, that's what I'm grateful for."

Harry didn't understand. He looked at his counterpart questioningly. Surprising him and perhaps everyone in the room, the older boy took one step forward and engulfed the boy in a hug. Damien watched in awe, he had never seen Harry initiate a hug before, except maybe with Ginny, but that was different.

"Don't let go of it, Harry." The older boy whispered in his ear.

"Let go of what?" the younger Harry asked, confused.

"Your innocence." Harry answered, still a whisper. "Don't _ever_ let it go."

He moved back then and the fifteen year old saw an odd emotion flicker in the eyes of his other self. He wasn't sure what it was. He nodded his head in answer to what his eighteen year old had said to him. Smiling, Harry walked over to meet Remus and Sirius then.

"Again, Harry, I have to thank you." Sirius said, taking the boy into a hug. "What you did for me..."

"This must be the hundredth time you've said it, Sirius." Harry replied. "And for the hundredth time, let it go! Get over it!" Harry smirked.

He walked over to the group, waiting for him in the middle of the room. James already had the compass in his hands. Harry slipped his hand into Ginny's and smiled warmly at her. Lily was still looking at the fifteen year old Harry, who had Sirius and Remus walk behind him and put a hand on each shoulder. The fifteen year old nodded encouragingly at his dad but couldn't stop his eyes from watering, his heart beating painfully fast.

James clicked the rings into place and the compass shuddered to life. The hands started spinning and the golden light engulfed the five of them. James, Lily, Damien and Harry kept their eyes on the fifteen year old Harry as the golden bubble began getting brighter.

The younger Harry kept his gaze fixed on his family when they disappeared in an instant, along with the compass. Now that they were gone, Harry let the tears fall properly. He turned around and wrapped his arms around his godfather and let the tears come out. He had to get them out of his system.

For long minutes, Harry stayed where he was, letting the warm tears slide down his face and Sirius and Remus' comforting words ring in his ears. Slowly, Harry pulled away and wiped a sleeve over his eyes, drying them. Sirius and Remus led Harry out of the room. Before walking out, Harry turned back to look one last time, at the spot that his family had been standing in only seconds ago.

"It'll be okay, Harry." Remus comforted. "They're not really gone. They'll always be with you."

The phone suddenly lit up and started ringing. Harry looked down at his hand and felt a smile tug at his lips.

Remus was right, his family wasn't gone. He would always have them with him.

He wasn't alone.

Not anymore.

xxx

And there you have it. The last chapter. The Epilogue will follow soon!!

Please review!!


	45. Epilogue

**Disclaimer** I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.

Thanks for all your reviews. Sorry for the long wait. I hope the long chapter makes up for it. (I know Epilogues are supposed to be short but...I couldn't help myself) Enjoy!!

**Chapter Forty Five**

_Canon World_

Harry let out a sigh as he walked out of the Great Hall, having finished the last of his O.W.L.S exams. He walked along with the steady stream of students and headed for the stairs. Ron and Hermione caught up with him and were already discussing the paper. Harry tuned out Hermione's repetition of what answers she had given and Ron's loud groans in response.

They made their way to the common room, ready to finally rest after finishing a fortnight of their first proper wizarding exams.

Harry found himself in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady in no time. Seamus had already given the password so the portrait swung open, allowing access. Harry followed Ron and climbed into the common room. The trio sat in their usual place, next to the fire.

"Bloody hell, I'm glad that's over!" Ron said, putting his feet up on the table, wearing a very tired expression.

Hermione shook her head disapprovingly at him.

"I don't know why so many people hate examinations. I personally find them exhilarating." She announced.

"You would!" Ron answered.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not the only one who enjoys studying." She defended. "Harry had a great time studying for his O.W.L.S, didn't you Harry?" she asked.

Harry gave her a half heartened smile and nodded his head.

Ever since the day his family had left him to go back to their universe, Harry had fought the feelings of despair and loneliness. He had tried to keep his mind busy so he didn't think about them. As a result, he submersed himself in his studies, catching up on all he had missed and doing revision exercises nightly so he could sit his O.W.L.S examinations. Hermione had, of course, helped and encouraged him to catch up on all his lessons. Professor Dumbledore had asked all the Professors to help Harry so he could get up to date with his studies and the end result was that Harry sat all his O.W.L.S exams and he expected to pass all of them, even if he only scraped a pass.

But now his exams were over and Harry didn't know what he could do to keep himself from thinking about his family. He only had his friends to keep him busy.

"Well, I'm sure even Harry is glad to have the exams over and done with." Ron said.

"Just because you don't like to use your brain doesn't mean everyone is like that!" Hermione bickered.

"Guys, quit it." Harry said tiredly. "The exams are over, can we just drop it?"

Ron and Hermione looked away from each other and focused on Harry.

"You look really tired, Harry?" Hermione said. "Have you been sleeping properly?" she asked.

Harry nodded, even though he was lying.

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how busy he kept his mind during the day, when it came to the night and Harry lay in his bed, all he could do was think back to his time with his parents and his brother in another world. He couldn't sleep when he thought about Potter Manor and the large Quidditch pitch in which he had played countless games with Damien and James and sometimes Sirius. He remembered what it felt like to wake up in the morning and go downstairs into the kitchen to see his mum cooking breakfast. He thought about all the meal times, sitting at the table with his parents and his brother, laughing and enjoying their company. He remembered the way Lily fussed over how much food was in his plate and complained that he didn't eat enough. He remembered the way James' eyes would sparkle with pride whenever Harry beat him at Quidditch matches. He missed the silly and pointless gossip he shared with Damien. He even missed the way Damien used to argue with him. He missed everything about them. All of that was gone now and no matter how much he told himself it was for the best, he couldn't suppress the part of him that wished he could have them back.

Instinctively, Harry reached for his phone and his fingers lightly traced over the rectangular device sitting in his top pocket. The only connection he had to his family.

"Have you spoken to them recently?" Hermione asked as she noticed this developing habit of her friend.

Harry nodded.

"Mum and dad call me, every day." He answered. "And Damien calls nearly every night." A shadow of a smile graced his face.

"That's nice." Hermione smiled.

"How are they?" Ron asked.

Harry looked up at him.

"They're good." He answered.

"And _Harry_," Ron asked, whispering the name, "have you spoken to him?"

Harry shook his head.

"No." he added verbally. "We don't really have much to say to each other."

Ron and Hermione fell silent at that.

"We should go get some dinner." Hermione said quietly.

"Good idea! I'm starving!" Ron said, getting up from his seat.

Hermione threw him a look.

"What else is new?" She remarked.

Ron and Hermione got up and started making their way to the portrait door. Harry kicked his bag to the side and was about to get to his feet when they heard someone approach him.

"Hey, Harry!"

Harry looked up at the voice and saw Neville standing before him.

"Hey Neville." Harry answered.

"How did you find the last paper?" Neville asked, sitting down next to Harry. "I thought it was okay."

Harry nodded his head tiredly.

"Yeah, it was, fine."

Neville glanced hesitantly at Harry for a moment before leaning towards him.

"Harry, I wanted to ask you something." Neville started. "The...the boy, the one pretending to be you," he whispered quietly, "do you know him? I mean who he really is?"

Harry was surprised that Neville was asking about the other Harry. He had spent the last few months sharing a dormitory with him, but he never brought up the subject then.

"Yeah, I know who he is." Harry answered, playing along with the lie that the other Harry had been a fake who had come to Hogwarts as Harry Potter to trick Voldemort.

"Will you be seeing him soon?" Neville asked quickly. "I mean over summer or something. Will you meet him again?"

Harry paused before shaking his head, his heart breaking at the thought.

"No, I'm not going to meet him again." He answered.

Neville looked disappointed.

"Oh, okay. I just thought...it's okay, never mind."

He made to get up but Harry stopped him.

"Why did you ask about him, Neville?" Harry asked.

Neville turned to look at Harry, a sheepish smile on his round face.

"I just thought you might know him quite well, seeing as he pretended to be you and everything. I thought he might be a good mate of yours." Neville said with a shrug.

Harry couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"Yeah, he is a really good mate of mine." he confirmed.

Neville smiled.

"I wanted to ask you before but you were busy with catching up with lectures and classes and I didn't want to disturb you." he said, looking uncomfortable. "I just...if you talk to him or if you meet him again, will you do something for me?"

Harry nodded, wondering what it was that Neville possibly wanted to say to his counterpart.

"What?"

"Just tell him, thanks, for everything." Neville said. "I won't give up and I'll continue on my own, like he showed me." At seeing Harry's confused expression he added, "He'll know what I'm talking about." Neville grinned.

"Sure, Neville, if I talk to him, I'll pass on your message." Harry replied.

"Thanks!" Neville smiled and then got back up, heading to the stairs leading to his dormitory to drop off his bag.

Harry got up on his feet and started making his way through the busy common room heading for the door. He noted the stares falling on him as soon as he got up. Harry had been dreading it, having to face the population of Hogwarts, dealing with the questions they no doubt had about his doppelganger, the one who had attended in his place since the start of term. To his relief, however, no one asked him anything to do with the other Harry, other than Neville just now. The others stared at him, whispered about him, pointed at him like usual but no one came to him outright and asked him where he had been and why he had been switched. Harry didn't care why the students avoided the topic, he was just grateful for it. He already knew it was probably on the Headmaster's orders that no one harassed him.

He should have known it wouldn't last.

As soon as Harry followed Ron and Hermione out of the portrait door and down the stairs, he met a group of Hufflepuff students, on their way to the Great Hall too. The small group of seven Hufflepuff students looked up at Harry as he approached with Ron and Hermione and instantly the staring and whispering started. Harry ignored it, like he usually did and walked past them.

"...don't know how no one picked up on it. I mean he's totally different..."

"...I always knew something wasn't right...!"

"...potion mistake? Yeah, right....!"

The whispers weren't quiet enough and Harry fought down his annoyance and focused on getting to the Great Hall.

"Hey Potter!?"

Harry stopped at his name and looked around at the boy who had called to him. He recognised him as Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff Quidditch player.

"Yeah?" Harry answered, his irritation apparent in his voice.

Hermione clutched at Harry's arm but he ignored her.

Zacharias looked around at his fellow Hufflepuff students before turning smugly at Harry.

"I heard you went into hiding," he said outright, "during your swap with that impostor." He elaborated.

Harry felt his anger bubble furiously just under the surface.

"What's it got to do with you?!" Ron asked. "Have you forgotten how he threw you out? Want a repeat performance? Cause I'd love to send you smashing face first into the wall, Smith!"

The Hufflepuff boy coloured but he stubbornly kept his eyes glued to Ron.

"I wasn't talking to you, Weasley!" he spat. He turned to look back at Harry. "Did you and the Headmaster really come up with that plan to fool You-Know-Who?" he asked with clear disbelief.

"Why do you want to know?" Harry asked. "It's got nothing to do with you."

Hermione pulled at Harry's arm.

"Come on, Harry. Don't bother with him." she said quietly.

Harry turned, along with Ron to continue their way to dinner.

They heard Zacharias scoff behind them as he turned to his friends.

"Don't know why anyone believed that impostor was Potter!"

Harry ignored him and continued walking away.

"You believed he was Potter too." One of the other Hufflepuff students pointed out.

"But I knew something was up when he attacked me!" Zacharias defended. "He wandlessly blasted me across the room! After that it was bloody obvious he wasn't Potter!" he scoffed again, "Potter's not that advanced when it comes to magic."

Harry stopped again and turned around to look at Zacharias. Harry suddenly smiled at him.

"You're right, that should have been obvious." Harry said making the Hufflepuff boy stare back at him. "I can't do the things he can." Harry's emerald gaze shifted to Zacharias' wand which was tucked in his robes pocket. With a sudden whooshing sound, the wand flew from the Zacharias' pocket, straight towards Harry, who caught it just as easily as he did the golden snitch at his Quidditch matches. Harry's fingers closed around the wand and he smiled at the awestruck expressions of the others. "I don't know what you were thinking, believing I can do that sort of magic." Harry mocked.

Zacharias was lost for words and was just staring at Harry, his eyes flickering from his wand to Harry's face.

Harry threw the boy his wand back, which the Hufflepuff caught clumsily. Without another word, Harry turned and walked away, Ron and Hermione hurrying behind him, wearing very large grins.

xxx

Dinner was, like usual, a feast and Harry felt comfortably full and quite sleepy. He was finishing his dessert of treacle tart when Hermione nudged him glancing at the staff table.

"Professor Umbridge hasn't taken her eyes off you this whole time." She whispered.

Harry stole a sideways glance and saw the witch clad in pink, staring at him.

"I know. I can feel her eyes on me." He told Hermione.

Harry had quickly learned having returned to Hogwarts just what kind of a witch Umbridge was, and he had decided just as quickly that he disliked her. She had ignored him while teaching her class and offered no help to him when he was catching up with lectures. Thankfully, the subject of Defence Against the Dark Arts was Harry's favourite subject and he didn't struggle with it. But Harry knew it was also his dad's tutoring in the said subject that gave him an advantage.

"What is her problem?" Ron glowered openly at Umbridge as she continued to stare at Harry.

"It's obvious," Hermione answered. "Harry just made a fool out of the Minister and the whole Ministry." At the two boys' confused expressions she elaborated. "The official story being that Harry and Professor Dumbledore played a trick to fool..." she lowered her voice, "Voldemort," she raised her voice to normal again and continued, "...into revealing himself. Since the Ministry had no idea what was going on, it makes them look foolish." Hermione shrugged as she helped herself to dessert. "After all, it is supposed to be the Minister's job to deal with threats such as _Voldemort_." She whispered the name again. "Umbridge is obviously worried about all the trouble her dear Minister Fudge is getting into because of all this. She obviously blames Harry." She turned to the dark haired boy. "Have you heard the recent news? It seems Minister Fudge might be replaced."

Harry turned to face her in surprise.

"Really?" he asked.

Hermione nodded.

"Apparently, Minister Fudge is feeling the heat now that everyone knows he ignored the warning you and Professor Dumbledore gave last year about _Voldemort_ returning. Now that _Voldemort_ is substantially weakened with next to no Death Eaters at his side, no one wants Fudge to mess up and let him get away. I heard a new Minister might be appointed, one that can handle the situation and get _Voldemort_ before he grows strong again."

Harry looked thoughtful.

"Who might that be?" he asked, more himself than Hermione.

"Rufus Scrimgeour." Hermione said at once.

"Who?" Ron asked through a mouthful.

"Rufus Scrimgeour; he's the head of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic. Apparently he's a man of action. He's fought dark wizards most of his life so he's thought to be the best person to deal with this situation as he won't underestimate the threat of Voldemort." Hermione said, sipping her pumpkin juice. "That's the gossip anyway."

"Where do you get all this information from?" Ron asked amazed and wide eyed.

"I have my sources." Hermione smirked.

Suddenly the door to the Great Hall opened and a group of blue robed Aurors entered the hall, hurrying up to the staff table. The group of Aurors caught every eye as they made their way up to Dumbledore. The headmaster rose to his feet at the sight and Harry saw the look of confusion on the aged wizard's face.

The Auror leading the rest came to stop in front of Dumbledore. He said something to the headmaster in a quiet voice, so none of the students could hear him, as he pulled a scroll from his pocket and offered it. The headmaster took the scroll and unfurled it. His eyes scanned the parchment and then his gaze lifted and went straight to Harry. The raven haired boy felt a moment of unease wash over him as the headmaster's gaze picked him out. Were the Aurors here for him? What had he done now?

Harry's thoughts changed the next moment when he saw Dumbledore nod his head, a strange fire in his blue eyes and he stepped aside allowing the Aurors to move past him. The group of men went straight to the end of the table and stood towering over the short, squat woman, dressed in a fluffy pink cardigan.

"Dolores Jane Umbridge, you are under arrest for the unauthorised use of Dementors," the Aurors said in a loud clear voice, which reached the curious students. "You don't have to say anything in your defence as anything you say may be used against you..."

Two Aurors stood either side of the short woman and took her wand from her as the Auror continued to read out her rights. As soon as the Auror finished, the two Aurors took Umbridge by the arms to lead her away.

"What is this?" Umbridge asked, her voice still high and girly. Her high pitched giggle left her nervously. "There must be mistake."

The Aurors paid her no attention and started to lead her towards the doors.

"Come with us, Miss Umbridge." An Auror said as two of them began marching her down the hall.

"This is unacceptable!" Umbridge yelled, fighting the men in vain. "Let go of me! I haven't done anything!"

"Miss Umbridge, the Ministry have uncovered evidence which reveal you instructed two Dementors to go to Little Whinging, Surrey, London last August." the Auror replied, not breaking his stride towards the doors.

Hermione gasped out loud at the revelation, turning to look at Harry at once. Hermione had heard rumours that there was an investigation underway, into what the Minister and those close to him had been doing last year. It was in order to discredit the Minister, to show he wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities. The investigation must have uncovered Umbridge's action as well, since she was the senior Undersecretary to the Minister and must have been examined as well.

Harry found he couldn't look away from the struggling witch. Hermione and Ron had told him about the Dementor attack at Little Whinging. He couldn't believe Umbridge was the one to have sent those Dementors to target him. Umbridge suddenly turned to look at Harry too, her eyes fixed hatefully on him.

"I was doing everyone a favour!" she yelled, trying to wrench her arms out of the strong grips. "Potter was causing too much trouble! He had to be stopped! Desperate times call for desperate measures!" she explained, her voice betraying her growing hysteria. "Look, you obviously don't know what you are doing! Let me speak to Cornelius, he will explain to you that I am his Senior Undersecretary! You cannot arrest me!"

"Your arrest order has come from Minister Fudge himself." the Auror said, without even turning around to look at her.

The look of shock on Umbridge's face almost made Harry feel sorry for her.

"But...no...wait! I didn't do anything wrong! Potter had to be stopped! You have to listen to me!"

Umbridge continued to fight but her attempts were useless as the Aurors marched her out of the Great Hall and out of Hogwarts.

xxx

The Hogwarts Express started to slow down, pulling into Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross station. Even as the train came to a complete stop, Harry continued to sit in his seat, his gaze fixed on the window. Ron and Hermione quietly got up and started to pull their trunks out of the storage compartments.

"Harry?" Hermione called, making the bespectacled boy look away from the window and around at her. "We're here." She told him quietly.

With a sigh, Harry picked himself out of his seat and pulled out his trunk. The three students started making their way out of the compartment, mixing with the steady stream of students that were hurrying to get off the train and to their homes. Harry allowed the chaos and frantic rush to sweep him up and lead him out of the scarlet train.

He pushed past the students, pulling his trunk with him, as he stepped off the train. Harry waited for Ron and Hermione to join him. Just as Ron jumped off the train, Harry saw the blond haired Slytherin push his way past the students and step off the train as well. The grey eyes met Harry's and the Slytherin paused momentarily. Then, without a single word, or even a malicious sneer, Draco Malfoy turned, picked up his luggage and walked away, passing Harry and Ron.

"What's gotten into him?" Ron asked as both boys watched Draco disappear into the crowd.

Harry shrugged.

"Don't know."

Draco had been strangely quiet and subdued since Harry saw him when he returned to Hogwarts a few months ago. Harry had expected the usual bullying and taunts by the blond Slytherin and was extremely surprised to receive nothing from him.

Hermione joined the two boys and glanced in the direction they were staring in.

"Really, you two are impossible!" she admonished. "If Malfoy does anything you hate him, if he leaves you alone, you're still not happy!" she clicked her tongue at them. "Shame on you both!" she teased.

They picked up their luggage and headed for the brick wall, the gateway that led them to the muggle world.

"It just seems weird that Malfoy is so quiet." Harry said, explaining himself. "I would have thought he would have a comment or two to throw my way."

"Just ignore him Harry." Hermione replied. "I've been telling you to do that for years!"

They approached the brick wall and Harry, Ron and Hermione passed through the gateway and made their way through Kings Cross Station.

Harry slowed down, not looking forward to the journey ahead. He was heading back to Privet Drive, back to stay with his aunt, who still hated him and was probably going to make his stay there hell as payback for whatever it was the other Harry had done to her and the rest of the Dursleys. Harry pushed along his trolley, looking absolutely miserable. Ron clapped a hand on his back.

"Cheer up, Harry!" he said. "Don't look so depressed. It won't be so bad."

"Yeah, Harry," Hermione joined in. "You only have to stay at your aunt's for a week. The rest of your summer will be with Sirius." She consoled.

Harry sighed.

"I know but that's just the thing. I don't want to spend a week with the Dursleys. Now that I know I can stay with Sirius in his new home, I can't bear the thought of spending seven days at Privet Drive. It's going to be murder!"

"It'll be fine." Hermione answered. "It's not a choice thing, Harry, you know that. Voldemort is still out there and he'll be trying his hardest to get to you. You need protection and for that you have to spend at least a week at your aunt's home. You know what Professor Dumbledore said; as long as you can call Privet Drive your home, the blood magic will protect you."

Harry nodded his head. He knew that but that didn't make him any happier about it.

"Hey, it's still cool for me to come and stay with you and Sirius, right?" Ron asked as they pushed their way through the crowd.

"Yeah, Sirius is fine with it." Harry answered.

"I can't wait to see your room!" Ron said excitedly.

"Neither can I," Harry responded, "Sirius said it's the second biggest room in the Manor and he's decorated it in the colours I asked for." He grinned, his face breaking into a smile for the first time that day.

"Sounds wonderful." Hermione smiled at the sight of her friend happy.

"I'm just glad Sirius gave in and didn't get a thirty room mansion." Harry said. "Although, ten rooms are still a lot."

Ron shook his head.

"Nah, ten rooms are fine. The Burrow has eight rooms."

"Yes, but Ron, the Burrow had eight people living in it at one time." Hermione pointed out. "Here it's just Harry and Sirius."

Harry caught sight of his uncle, standing near the doors, his usual scowl on his face as he waited for him. The sight of him made Harry slow down. His hand instinctively went to his pocket, his fingers outlining the small rectangle resting in his pocket.

"Did you tell your parents you're going back to your aunts?" Ron asked, seeing Harry's hand ghosting over his pocket that held the precious phone.

"Yeah, mum was going ballistic again," Harry smiled remembering how protective his mum was. "She was actually planning on paying aunt Petunia a visit when she came here."

"Why didn't she?" Hermione asked.

"I asked her not to." Harry replied. "I didn't want to cause even more problems. I don't know how Harry treated the Dursleys but I can guess, and that doesn't bode well for me." He shrugged at the looks he was getting from the other two. "I didn't want mum getting involved as well. Not to mention that aunt Petunia would probably have a breakdown if she thought her dead sister had come back to yell at her."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but then changed her mind.

Vernon's small beady eyes finally found Harry and his expression changed as he saw the small boy pushing along his trolley in his direction. A look of relief flashed on his face before his scowl reappeared, deepening as he raised his hand, gesturing for Harry to hurry up.

Harry sighed again and turned to his friends.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you guys later." He said, dejectedly.

"Take care, Harry," Hermione hugged him. "And no matter what, don't let them get to you." Her eyes glanced in Vernon's direction. "Just keep thinking, one week, that's how long you have to tolerate them for. After that, you'll be with Sirius, in your new home."

"Second home," Harry reminded. "Remember, that's how Professor Dumbledore wants me to think of Sirius' home."

Ron hugged Harry as well, mirroring Hermione's words and reminding him that he was going to come a few weeks from now to spend summer with him.

Ron and Hermione saw their families waiting for them and they hurried over to them as Harry pushed his trolley towards his waiting uncle. Vernon didn't wait for Harry to reach him and turned, heading to his car. Harry followed behind him, wishing his one week with the Dursleys was over already.

xxx

The car pulled into the driveway of number four Privet Drive. Harry got out and pulled out his trunk and Hedwig's cage. The journey had been a silent one and Harry didn't even look in his uncle's direction. Harry headed to the house, wanting to just get inside as quickly as possible.

He hurried behind his uncle and as soon as the door opened, Harry rushed inside. He dropped his trunk before the cupboard under the stairs. He knew his aunt and uncle enjoyed taking his school things and locking them in the cupboard for the duration of summer. Harry didn't put up a fight this time and he left his trunk sitting in front of the cupboard door before taking Hedwig's cage and going up the stairs.

His peripheral vision picked up on his aunt Petunia standing at the kitchen door watching him. He didn't give her any notice as he trudged up the stairs. He went straight to the smallest bedroom in the house and opened the door. He stopped dead at the sight inside.

A new bed was sitting against the far wall, along with a new mattress and new bed covers. His tatty, broken wardrobe had been replaced with a small two door wardrobe but it looked new as well. The dull walls had been painted white and Harry was amazed to see a new carpet as well.

Dumbfounded, Harry turned around to see both his aunt and uncle standing behind him, wearing slightly nervous looking expressions.

"What's all this?" Harry asked, gesturing to his newly furnished and decorated room.

Petunia looked to her husband who spoke, clearing his throat.

"Petunia and I decided that your room was, well, it needed a change." He pointed at the door. "This cost us a lot, so don't give us any cheek about not liking it." his eyes kept darting to Harry's face and then his hand, as if expecting to see him reach for his wand.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked back at the room again.

"You like it, don't you?" Petunia asked suddenly, surprising Harry. "You'll stay here now? You won't want our room, will you?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up and he opened his mouth in surprise.

"What?!"

His raised voice made Petunia and Vernon nervous and they backed away a step.

"Now look here!" Vernon started, obviously trying to keep in control. "We have to come to an agreement! This is your room and now it's just as nice as the rest of the house so you have to stay here! You can't take our room!"

Harry shook his head.

"I don't want your room." Harry defended.

The two muggles relaxed at once.

"Good, that's...that's good." Vernon stammered, nodding his head. "Well, glad that's sorted." He turned and quickly went downstairs.

Harry watched as Petunia followed, glancing over at Harry but not saying anything to him.

Harry walked into his new room and closed the door behind him, idly noting the absence of locks on his door. He walked over and settled Hedwig on top of the new bedside cabinet and sat down on his bed.

He rubbed at his face, still dealing with the shock of what the Dursleys had said and done. He looked around at the fresh room. This was all obviously done in response to whatever it was his counterpart had done to them. Harry mentally kicked himself. Why didn't he ask his other self what it was he had done to his aunt and uncle? He had learned that he had taken over their bedroom. Harry chuckled at the thought. He could just see his older counterpart refusing to stay in this room and forcefully taking over his aunt's room.

"_This room? Are you kidding me? It's too small. I like this one! I'm staying here!"_

The voice rang in his head, mimicking the tone of his other self. Harry shook his head at the thought. At least the seven days he had to spend here wouldn't be spent sleeping on an uncomfortable bed and locked inside a dull room.

Hedwig hooted at him, making Harry get up to go over to her. He got some water for her and poured it into her tray. He turned to get her an owl treat when he realised that the new carpet had blocked his access to the small storage space under a loose floorboard he had, under his bed.

Getting down, under his bed, Harry tugged at the edge of the carpet. He had stored a lot of his things under the loose floorboard. He needed them back. Harry pulled and thankfully the carpet came up easily. Harry reached over and pushed the loose floorboard aside and dug his hand into the hole and started pulling out things he had stashed there. His fingers came into contact with something soft and velvety. Perplexed, Harry pulled it out and saw a deep purple velvet pouch, with a drawstring. He pulled the pouch out from under the floor and stared at it. He had never seen it before. He placed it to the side and continued digging out his things. Once he was sure everything had been taken out of his makeshift storage, he clicked the floorboard back into place and straightened out the carpet, rolling it smooth and tucking it in at the edges.

Harry climbed back out from under his bed and brought with him his hidden possessions and the strange velvet pouch which clearly had something inside. Harry picked up the packet of owl treats and pulled a few out, depositing them into Hedwig's cage so she could enjoy them. Ignoring everything else, Harry picked up the purple velvet bag and sat down on his bed.

He pulled the string to open and peered inside. Pulling out the bulky contents Harry was surprised to find a small book and dozens of loose parchment, some with strange drawings on them. He found a folded piece of parchment with his name clearly written across it. He picked up the parchment and opened it.

_Just a helping hand. Hopefully this might help you get even with Voldemort, without going to Dumbledore! Just remember, things might be different in this world so research everything! _

_Harry._

Harry knew the note was from his counterpart, even before he read the signature at the end of the short note. The hand writing was a dead giveaway.

Harry smiled, putting aside the letter from himself. So his counterpart didn't destroy the compass and already used it to come back and leave this stuff for him. Harry found he was actually relieved and immensely glad that his other self hadn't listened to him and destroyed the compass. At least this way, Harry could have a little hope that he may be able to visit his family again, or when everything was okay and Voldemort was gone for good, his family could come to see him.

Feeling motivated, Harry studied the mass of papers left for him. These could help him destroy Voldemort? How? Harry saw the heading 'Horcruxes' on the loose parchment sheets, which he quickly deduced were notes on the subject. He recognised Hermione's neat writing on a few of the sheets and Professor Dumbledore's writing on the rest. He picked up the small book and turned it over, examining it. He couldn't see anything special about the book. It looked like a normal journal.

He opened it and read the inscription inside.

"Who is Jason Riley?" Harry asked himself.

---

_AU World_

The pub was already filled with people, being a Friday night, it was packed with witches and wizards having a drink to wind down and get ready for the weekend.

Draco was sitting alone at a side table. Two drinks before him. He brought up one of the bottles, taking a sip before putting it back down again. His back was to the door but he still heard it opening. He smiled as he heard the footsteps approaching and without turning around, he reached over and picked up the unopened bottle. He held it up and waited, just for a few seconds, before he felt someone take the bottle from his grip. The same person passed him and sat down on the seat opposite, opening the offered bottle.

"Thanks." Harry said as he brought the fire whiskey up to his lips and took a swig at it.

Draco held up his own bottle and took a deep gulp.

"You took your time." Draco commented.

"Sirius and Remus had come over. I couldn't get away." Harry answered.

"I didn't mean just now." Draco replied. "I meant you took your time coming back to this dimension."

Harry didn't answer right away and took another, longer gulp of his drink.

"It didn't all go to plan." He admitted.

"No kidding," Draco mocked. "Has anything you've ever planned gone smoothly?"

Harry gave Draco a look.

"I didn't know the bloody compass was going to be so sensitive. I was supposed to switch back after two days." Harry replied.

"Instead you spent seven months in another world." Draco teased. "So, how was it?" he asked taking another sip of his fire whiskey.

Harry thought about it for a moment before lifting his gaze.

"Terrible." Harry replied.

"Really?" Draco asked.

"I won't be doing it again in a hurry." Harry said, shaking his head.

Draco snorted in amusement before draining his bottle.

"Did you get up to anything interesting while you were there?" Draco asked.

Harry tapped the table with his fingers.

"Plenty, but nothing of great importance." He dismissed.

"So your last seven months were a waste of time?" Draco asked.

Harry smiled a little and leaned back.

"Of course not, I got a chance to _reflect_ on myself." He replied.

Draco sniggered.

"Yeah, I met your reflection too." He mused, "a little overly dramatic, I must say." He commented. "But you are an emotional mess most of the time, so no big surprise there."

Harry threw his friend a look but didn't say anything.

"Did you learn anything from your time, _reflecting_?" Draco asked.

Harry smiled a little as he sat up.

"Of course I did."

When Harry didn't offer anything else, Draco had to prompt him.

"And?"

Harry tapped the table with his fingers again.

"I realised I give myself far too little credit. I'm capable of things I never thought possible."

Draco looked confused. He knew Harry was talking about the other Harry.

"Really? He didn't look exceptionally powerful to me, quite the opposite actually."

Harry looked up at him, a strange emotion in his eyes.

"No, Draco, he is powerful, far more than me. He can learn and train himself to do what I can, but what he can do, I could never."

Draco realised what powers his friend was taking about. It wasn't the magic that could be taught, it was the other magic, the one that every person was born with but only a few could hold onto. It was the magic of purity, to be an innocent, to possess the power of forgiveness, to have an untarnished soul.

Draco picked up his drink again.

"Yeah, but he's still far too dramatic."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the comment but didn't say anything. The two friends continued to talk; Harry told him everything that happened to him and what he did to weaken the Voldemort of that world. Draco listened in silence. Harry didn't tell him how he was tricked and trapped by Voldemort. He didn't want to mention his best friend's counterpart. Instead he told Draco about what he had learned about Snape being the one to inform Voldemort about the prophecy.

"Do you think the same happened here?" Draco asked, surprised at the information.

"Probably," Harry answered. "I think that was why Snape offered to become a spy for Dumbledore. He wanted to make up for it." he shook his head in disdain.

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't get one thing." Draco said. "Voldemort came here and attacked mother and father, took their memories so he could use them to deal with you." He summarised. "If he saw father's memories, wouldn't he have seen that Snape was actually a spy for the Order? I mean, father was there in the chamber with us when the Aurors ambushed the manor. He would have seen Snape turn against him."

Harry shook his head.

"No, he wouldn't have seen that." He answered.

"Why not?"

"Because Lucius made sure that memory was taken away." Harry explained. "Voldemort never saw what happened that day, Lucius took it away himself."

"Why?" Draco asked in surprise.

"To protect you." Harry answered. "He told me, when you were still in a coma and he came back. Lucius told me he had taken all the steps he could to protect you. He felt it was useless since you still got hurt."

Draco was visibly shocked.

"I never knew he did that." He mumbled.

"Voldemort didn't know how his counterpart was destroyed," Harry said. "He made a point of telling me that. He figured out what must have happened but he never saw the memory. He never saw Snape and you trick him with Damien. He still believes Snape is loyal to him."

Draco nodded, still looking surprised at how far his father went to ensure his safety.

"When were you planning on telling me?" Harry asked.

Draco tilted his head to the side.

"About what?"

"About Lucius," Harry said. Draco looked away, his fingers toying with the bottle but not lifting it. "Did you think I wouldn't notice he was missing?" Harry asked.

"I knew you would find out," Draco said, looking at Harry now, "I just...it's not something I look forward to telling everyone; my father is in Azkaban serving a life sentence."

"Don't worry; he won't be behind bars for long." Harry promised.

Draco shook his head.

"Don't do anything, Harry. Let him be." Draco said. "I think father doesn't mind being in Azkaban. I guess, without the Dementors, Azkaban isn't all that bad a place. Mother visits him often. Both are communicating more now than they did when they were married." Draco said with a half smile. "I think father feels like he needs to be in Azkaban. It's his repentance." Draco shrugged again at Harry's expression.

Harry was quiet for long minutes.

"I'm going to meet him." Harry said, breaking the silence. "I'll see exactly how he feels."

"Afraid not," Draco shook his head. "You have to be an immediate family member to see a prisoner of Azkaban."

Harry shot Draco a look.

"Let's see them try and stop me."

Draco shook his head, a half smile on his face as he drained his drink.

xxx

James looked up from his desk at the sound of a knock at his door. Before he could say anything the door opened and Harry walked into his quarters.

"Harry," James said happily, dropping his quill onto the stack of papers he was marking. "Come in, come in," he said excitedly getting up from his desk and walking over to greet his son. "This is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you tonight."

Harry smirked at him.

"If you want, I can go back." He joked.

"No, no, I just meant since you were here yesterday. I thought you wouldn't be back for a few days." James explained.

Harry shrugged as he sat down on the sofa.

"I was bored. Being the only Potter in Potter manor isn't as much fun as I thought it would be."

James beamed at Harry.

"Aw, you miss us!" he teased.

Harry rolled his eyes playfully.

"I miss mum's cooking, that's about it." he teased back.

James sat down across from Harry. He hated how quickly he had to return to Hogwarts when they got back from their two week trip to the other dimension. He and Lily had to resume their posts as Hogwarts Professors and Damien had to return to continue with his fifth year studies. That left Harry alone in Potter Manor but he had been visiting them regularly. At first it was only twice in the week and the weekends but now it was almost every other night. James knew Harry missed them and was coming to see them not only because he was bored.

"Have you had dinner yet?" James asked. They had finished dinner in the Great Hall about a half hour ago.

Harry nodded.

"I had a bite with Remus." He answered.

"Moony and Padfoot keeping you company?" James asked with a smile.

Harry smiled.

"Yeah, that's the other reason I'm here," he smirked. "I've got to get away from that pair!"

James laughed, knowing Harry was only joking.

"You don't need a reason to come. I hate that you're on your own." James said honestly.

Harry shifted in his seat, leaning forward, towards James.

"About that," he started, "I wanted to run something by you..."

The door behind James opened, interrupting Harry. Both James and Harry looked around to see Damien hurry inside, head lowered over a thick book in his hands.

"Dad, I give up! I can't get this..." he trailed off when he looked up from the open book and saw his brother. "Harry!" he breathed in relief, "am I glad to see you!" he darted towards him.

Harry chuckled at his younger brother's flushed appearance.

"You okay, Damy?" he asked.

"Hell, no!" Damien replied. "I've got my transfiguration practical tomorrow and I can't get this stupid spell to work!" Damien groaned as he thrust the thick book into Harry's hands.

Harry glanced at the spell the page was detailing and then looked back up at Damien.

"A Vanishing spell? This is basic transfiguration." He stated.

"No, this is O.W.L.S level transfiguration and no matter how hard I try, I can't get it to work!" Damien complained. "But since you're here and you can do _wandless_ transfiguration, you can help me." Damien said with a relieved smile.

James coughed loudly making Damien and Harry look over at him.

"Um, hello? I was an Animagi at your age." He said to Damien.

Damien blinked confusedly at him.

"Good for you, dad." Damien replied, before turning back to Harry.

Harry smirked at the insulted look on James.

"I think what dad is trying to say is, he could have helped you with _transfiguration_." Harry explained to Damien.

Damien turned to look at James.

"Well, I came here to get help from you. But since Harry's here and he's... you know...better than you." Damien said matter-of-factly.

Harry smiled smugly as James rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine, go to Harry." James said. "Harry must be a good teacher if he can get you to learn anything." he teased his youngest.

"Not cool parenting, dad!" Damien muttered as he dropped onto the sofa next to Harry.

James stalked off to his desk, pretending to be insulted. He was secretly very proud of Harry and didn't mind it one bit that Damien preferred to go to Harry instead of him.

James quickly went through the rest of his marking, rushing through his second year essays while Harry helped Damien. Just as James was finished with his pile of marking, his door opened again and this time, Lily came inside.

"James, I just wanted to check if you..." Lily spotted both her sons on the sofa. "Harry!" she greeted happily, her eyes lighting up at once. "I didn't know you were here." She hurried over to him, kissing him affectionately on the cheek. "Have you been here long?" she asked, annoyed that she hadn't known of his arrival.

"No, I just got here." Harry replied.

"Can you chat later?" Damien said, gesturing to his mum to leave. "He's helping me, very big practical exam tomorrow!"

"Which you should have been preparing for, long before now." Lily admonished.

"Mum, come on, that's not me. Why must you change me?" Damien asked with a fake hurt look.

Lily rolled her eyes before playfully ruffling his hair.

She left her two boys and went to her husband, sitting next to him so Harry could take his time teaching Damien.

"How do you even know if the vanishing spell is going to be a part of the exam?" Lily asked Damien, as she watched Harry demonstrate the spell.

"It's just a guess," Damien replied, "Everyone seems to think it will be in the practical." He twisted his wand in a complicated wave and let out a triumphant hoot as the coaster he was targeting vanished. "I did it!" Damy beamed. "Thanks, Harry!" he breathed in relief.

Harry flicked his own wand and brought back the coaster.

"Anytime," he answered. "I just need an excuse to demonstrate how poor this school is." Harry added as he put his feet up on the coffee table. "Vanishing spells at fifth year," he shook his head, "pathetic."

"Alright, can we leave Hogwarts bashing until later?" Lily asked as she walked over to her sons. She smiled warmly at Harry as she sat next to him. "Have you been looking after yourself?" she asked, taking his face in her hands.

"No," Harry replied with a smirk. "In the space of just 24 hours I've been completely careless."

Lily scrutinised Harry's face.

"I know you're only being sarcastic but your face does seem thinner than last night."

"Mum," Harry groaned, "I'm fine, I'm eating, sleeping, doing everything possible to keep myself alive, so stop worrying."

Lily dropped her hands away from him.

"I know you can look after yourself. It's just, I hate being away from you. I want us all to be together." She smiled at him again. "I just got you back and I'm stuck here while you're at home, by yourself."

Harry didn't say anything but a small smile came to his face, almost like he was enjoying a private joke with himself.

"You were about to tell me something before Damien came." James reminded as he came to sit next to Harry.

Harry shifted in his seat, sitting up now. He glanced at his mum and Damien before shaking his head at James.

"It was nothing, forget it." Harry said.

James didn't push the subject, trusting Harry to tell him whatever it was in his own time.

xxx

James and Lily made their way to dinner after a busy day of classes. It was Friday, the last day of the second week of exams. More than the students, James was glad it was over. He needed the time to recuperate from all the revision lectures he had given to his fifth, sixth and seventh years.

Just as he climbed the stairs with Lily he saw the group of fifth year Gryffindors making their way into the hall. He spotted Damien among the crowd. He smiled at his son's tired but relieved looking face.

Damien held back so he could share a few words with his parents before they went into the Great Hall.

"Hey Damy," James greeted. "So how do you feel?" he asked, referring to the end of his exams.

"Grateful," Damien replied with a sigh. "I never want to do that again!"

Lily playfully swatted him on the head.

"You have to make me proud, you hear?" she said.

The three Potters were just about to walk into the hall when the sound of a door opening stopped them. They turned around to see a very peculiar sight.

The door to the staffroom had opened and a dark haired boy walked out, followed by Dumbledore, both still deep in conversation with each other. The boy nodded his head and looked at Dumbledore, seemingly agreeing with him. Dumbledore offered a hand which the boy took, just for a second, before moving away from him. Dumbledore turned and went back into the staffroom, wearing a smile. The boy turned to come face to face with the stunned looking Potters.

Harry looked mildly surprised at the sight of his family standing before him, gaping at him.

"Hey guys!" Harry greeted.

"Harry?" James asked, not sure what he had just seen.

"What is going on?" Lily asked, coming over to Harry, spotting a thin file in her son's hands. "What just happened? Did you and Dumbledore just..._shake hands_?" she asked.

"As shocking as that is, yes we did." Harry smirked back.

James suddenly leaned towards Harry, eyes narrowed, studying his face carefully.

"Harry?" he asked in a low whisper.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's still me," Harry said, "the _nasty_ one."

James straightened up.

"Just checking," then added, "And don't talk about my son that way. You're not nasty."

"Let's reserve judgement until we figure out what he's done." Damien said and then turning to Harry he asked, "What did you do?" in a condescending tone.

"I have some news." Harry started, his playful smirk coming into place. "You should be sitting down for this."

xxx

All four Potters were gathered on the sofas in James living quarters. They had asked the house elves to bring dinner to them in the quarter and had quickly rushed through it. Harry took his time, annoying the other three.

"Alright, now tell us why you were talking with Dumbledore?" James asked, "and in a civil manner no less." He added.

Harry gave James a look before dropping his fork onto his plate.

"Actually I was exceptionally rude to him today." Harry defended. "I told him exactly how rubbish his school was."

"You were shaking his hand." Damien pointed out.

"I was duped into that one." Harry protested.

"How?" Lily asked.

Harry took a moment before he started explaining.

"Alright, do you all remember that Duelling job Dumbledore offered me last year?"

"Of course." James answered.

"You took the job!" Damien suddenly said, looking at Harry with surprise.

"Not in this lifetime, Damy." Harry corrected.

Damien sat back.

"So, if you didn't take the job, what were you talking to Dumbledore about?" James asked, he had secretly thought Harry had taken the job too.

Harry smiled as he looked at his dad.

"See, when I was in the other world, Hermione sort of blackmailed me into helping her set up this group..." Harry started.

"The DA." Damien supplied.

"DA?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, it was..." Harry started.

"Dumbledore's Army!" Damien interrupted. "Harry told me about it."

"Damy?" Harry called.

"Yeah"

"Shut it. I'm telling the story."

"Okay" Damien replied, with a shrug.

"Anyway, Hermione set up this group called DA so the students could learn Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry explained. "I only did it to piss off Dumbledore and Umbridge. I thought teaching a handful of students a few spells would be easy." Harry shook his head. "Turns out, it was murder. They hardly knew how to block, never mind counter attack. Trying to get them to use simple defensive spells was like teaching them the Unforgivables." At seeing the expressions on his parents faces he added, "Which I didn't teach them, by the way."

Lily looked relieved and muttered a quiet, "Thank Merlin."

"Anyway, ever since getting back I found myself wondering what it was I wanted to do with my life." Harry looked at his family, "All of you were busy with either teaching or learning and I realised that I didn't actually mind...teaching, at least, I didn't mind what I did with the DA. I wouldn't mind doing that full time."

Damien looked around at his parents; they looked just as lost as he felt.

"I'm sorry, but didn't you just say you _didn't_ take the Duelling job?" Lily asked.

"That's right, I didn't take the job." Harry replied. "I did something different."

"What?" James asked.

Harry smiled at them before pushing the thin file across the table, towards his parents. James took it and quickly opened it, wearing a frown.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's my contract with the school board." Harry answered. "I offered them my services and they took it."

"I don't understand." Lily said, taking the file from James and scanning it quickly. "You're saying you didn't take the job but you've signed a contract with the school board?"

Harry grinned at her confusion.

"I don't _work_ for Dumbledore or for Hogwarts." Harry replied. "I didn't want to become a Hogwarts Professor. So I met with the school board and offered them a deal. I'm more like an independent teacher; I have my own curriculum, my own rules, my own standards. I don't have to report back to anyone, especially not Dumbledore."

"But why would the school board agree to something like that?" Lily asked.

"They want me to teach the students how to duel effectively." Harry said simply. "They've acknowledged their shortcomings and they know what I have to offer. They agreed to my terms and gave a few of their own." Harry smirked. "Not that I'm bothered with any of them."

"So you are like an independent educationalist?" James asked, trying to figure out what Harry would be termed as.

"Sort of, yeah." Harry agreed.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just take the job?" Damien asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No, this way, I'm my own boss. I'm not working for anyone."

"But, in reality it's the same thing." James said. "You are going to be teaching effective duelling. Whether you do it as a Hogwarts Professor or as an independent educationalist is irrelevant. In either way, you're still teaching for Hogwarts."

"Actually, I'm not." Harry said. "There's something else that I need to tell you. You know that part of Hogwarts grounds that leads into the Forbidden Forest, just behind the lake?"

"Yeah" all three answered.

"Well, that's no longer Hogwarts grounds." Harry said, "It's mine."

James, Lily and Damien just stared at Harry.

"I'm sorry, it's what?" Lily asked.

"It's mine, I bought it."

"What do you mean you bought it!?" Lily asked.

"I paid for it, it belongs to me." Harry explained.

"Harry, for God's sake," James said, shaking his head. "Explain what you're talking about."

"I bought a section of the grounds and before next term starts, there will be a small building built on it. That's where I'll be teaching, not in Hogwarts."

"How did you manage to buy a part of Hogwarts grounds?" Damien asked in awe. "I didn't think it would be up for sale."

"For the right price, anything can be sold." Harry answered.

"Okay, awkward question," James started, "where did you get the money to buy a part of Hogwarts grounds?" He didn't even want to guess how much a small section of Hogwarts grounds could cost. He was sure it would definitely empty Harry's vault.

"Oh God!" Lily gasped. "You used all your money!" she shook her head. "Harry, that money in your Potter vault was supposed to help you with your future!"

"I didn't use the money in my Potter vault." Harry said. "I've not touched my Potter inheritance."

"So, where did you get the money?" James asked.

"I think you all are forgetting that I'm the sole heir to a once very financially stable Dark Lord." Harry said.

The three Potters went very quiet.

Harry looked down at his hands resting in his lap.

"I didn't know what to do with his money." He admitted quietly. "I didn't want to use it and until now, I just ignored it. Everything he ever had has been given to me. Even Riddle Manor is mine, which is why it opened at my touch." Harry said. "But when I thought about doing this, I knew I could use the money and it felt right." Harry looked up at his family. "Voldemort always wanted to own Hogwarts. This way he owns a part of it."

Damien smiled at Harry's words. He looked up at his parents to see understanding in their eyes also.

"So, you're not actually teaching at Hogwarts. It's more like Hogwarts students are coming to you to learn effective duelling." James said.

"You're starting to finally get it." Harry grinned. "I don't work for Hogwarts. Hogwarts is coming to me. "

"Why didn't you tell us you were thinking about doing all this?" Lily asked.

"I was going to say something a fortnight ago when I finalised the deal with buying the land, but I was certain the school board was not going to agree to my terms so I held back, wanting to make sure it was happening before I said anything."

"So, everything is finalised?" Damien asked.

Harry nodded.

"I just signed the contract today. Dumbledore wanted to talk over a few things so that's why I was in the staff room with him." Harry explained.

"I can't believe this is happening." Lily said, happily. "You're going to be here, teaching with us! Oh, I'm so glad you're not away from us anymore!"

"You won't get a staff quarter, will you?" James asked, seeing the glitches in Harry's brilliant plan.

"No, since I'm not a Hogwarts professor, I don't get the perks." Harry answered.

"Where will you stay?" Damien asked. "Are you going to have to apparate back home every day?"

"It's not a problem for me." Harry shrugged. He smirked as he looked over at Lily. "But I could get a place nearer, maybe in Hogsmeade. A nice two bedroom..."

"Forget it!" Lily was quick to say. "You're not moving out, not yet."

"I'm eighteen, mum." Harry pointed out.

"Yes, but out of these eighteen years, you've only been with us for two." She fixed him with her 'no-further-argument' look. "You're stuck with us for a little longer."

Harry sighed.

"Yeah, I figured I couldn't get away that easily."

"When you do move out, can I get your room?" Damien asked hopefully.

"Damy?" Lily turned to him.

"What? His room is bigger than mine." Damien defended.

"You got first pick. You could have taken it." James reminded.

"Yeah, but I chose the room that has windows facing the back, that way I can sneak..." Damien caught himself in time. "Never mind, not important."

Harry chuckled.

"When I move out, you can have it." Harry said. "It's only another few months, at the most a year." He added, glancing at Lily with a smile.

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"We'll see about that."

xxx

The summer break found all four Potters back at Potter Manor. Harry was busy, trying to get the necessary work done on his newly purchased land so his building was ready in time for September.

The news of him offering a course to teach 'Effective Duelling' had spread in the wizarding world but Harry had not expected the majority to react positively. Harry still instilled fear in most but at the same time he attracted attention and curiosity by refusing to come under the spotlight. Many wanted to know _who_ exactly he was and a chance to learn his exceptional skills far outweighed any reservations they had.

Lily set down two plates for her two sons. She had already had her lunch with James while their two sons were busy training. She called to them again, warning them to come in otherwise she was going to come out to get them.

Harry sat down across from Damien and had not even taken a bite when a blue and white bird swooped inside and settled on Damien's shoulder.

"Hey Neelam!" Damien greeted his pet owl. "Are you hungry?"

Harry watched in barely concealed disgust as Damien fed the owl from his plate, happily passing her bits of his toast which Neelam chewed on with vigour. When Damien offered the bird his water to drink from his own glass, Harry lost his battle to keep quiet.

"Don't do that!" he said, grabbing the glass before Neelam could dip her beak into it.

Damien looked lost.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you have to share your food and water with a bird?" Harry asked.

"What's wrong with Neelam eating with me?"

"Aside from the fact that it's disgusting?"

Damien pursed his lips at him.

"Hey, you're talking about my pet." He defended.

"I'm talking about a bird." Harry said. He shook his head as he picked up his fork. "A bird? Out of all the possible presents he could have gotten you, he gets you a bird."

Damien looked annoyed.

"I love that Harry got me an owl." He defended. "Neelam is great! You're just bitter because you don't have one."

Harry gave Damien a look.

"I assure you, I'm not bitter." Harry said, "I don't like birds. I'm not good with them."

"Right, because a giant serpent is no problems but birds? Oh no, birds are just too weird!" Damien said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least I could talk with Nagini! I could communicate with her." Harry defended.

"I talk with Neelam." Damien said.

"No surprises there," Harry said. "All you do is hoot and chirrup. It's no wonder you're good with birds."

Damien turned to Neelam and made odd tweeting sounds at her. Neelam just hooted once before going back to her toast.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"I just told Neelam to clip you over the head with her extra sharp talons." Damien replied.

"Just try it!" Harry challenged, "You'll have a ball of feathers to call your pet!"

"Merlin help you, Harry, if you lay a finger on my bird!" Damien threatened.

"Boys, really?" Sirius said from beside the door. "All this energy, fighting over a bird?" He shook his head. "I tell you, it's a sad day when a bird comes between two brothers."

Harry and Damien looked at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter. Sirius chuckled as he joined the boys at the table.

"I didn't know you had come over." Damien said.

"I was bored." Sirius replied as he sat down. "There's a game on, fancy it?" Sirius asked, directing the question to both Harry and Damien.

"Who's playing?" Damien asked, interested.

"Not a clue," Sirius answered grinning. "Moony mentioned it. I thought I would ask Prongs and both of you if you wanted to go watch it."

"Yeah." Damien nodded. Quidditch was Quidditch; Damien didn't care if it was a national game or just local teams having a game.

Sirius turned to his godson.

"Harry?" he questioned.

Harry shrugged.

"Sure." he responded, but not as enthusiastic.

Sirius grinned.

"Great! Now I just have to convince your mum." He started to get up from his seat.

"Mum won't go. She hates Quidditch." Damien reminded.

"I'm not asking her to come. I need to ask her if _James_ can come." Sirius explained with a wink.

Harry and Damien both chuckled.

A small pop and Ginny suddenly appeared in the kitchen. She smiled brightly at the three wizards.

"Ginny! You're here!" Sirius greeted. "Do you fancy going to a Quidditch game?" he asked quickly getting to the point.

"Who's playing?" Ginny asked.

"Who cares?" Sirius answered. "It's Quidditch."

Ginny thought about it for a moment.

"Okay, sounds fun."

"Yes!" Sirius smiled. "The more people going the less chance Lily will say no."

Ginny sat next to Harry, sharing a kiss with him.

"Are you coming too?" she asked.

"Yeah." Harry nodded.

"When is the game starting?" Damien asked, finishing his lunch and getting up to clear the table.

"About four, I think." Sirius answered. He saw Ginny lean in to whisper something to her boyfriend before kissing him again. Sirius smirked.

"Aww, so sweet!" he teased.

Harry ignored him but Ginny blushed a little.

"Why are you still here?" she asked defensively.

Sirius, always ready to annoy anyone he could, sat down across from Harry.

"You both are so damn cute together!" he said. "I'm so glad your time apart didn't end the relationship." He gestured to Harry with a nod, "I didn't trust him, to be honest. I thought he might have a little side thing with another cutie in that other dimension." He smiled innocently at Harry's expression. "I know I would have!" he chuckled.

"Thanks." Harry answered dryly. "I'm so glad I'm not like you."

Sirius laughed and winked at him, showing that he was only joking. Ginny suddenly turned to look at Harry, her expression suddenly serious.

"That reminds me," she started, "guess who I met while you were away?" she asked. Without giving Harry a chance to answer she continued, "Amy Jackson," she looked Harry straight in the eyes, "do you know an Amy Jackson?"

Harry looked confused.

"Amy Jackson?" he repeated the name, "I don't know a witch named Amy Jackson." He said.

"I never said she was a witch." Ginny said. "She's a muggle. We met her when we went for a drink with Hermione at a muggle pub."

Harry's confused expression cleared suddenly and he smiled, a look in his eyes that told Ginny he remembered.

"Amy," Harry murmured the name, "Yeah, I remember; about 5ft 6, dark hair, blue eyes, long legs..."

Ginny looked murderously at Harry.

"Damn, wish I knew Amy." Sirius joked. When Ginny turned to glare at him, Sirius quickly lost his smile. "I better go and...get Prongs." He got up and quickly left.

"I thought you already had this conversation." Damien said to Ginny. He remembered the day they met Amy, how Ginny had taken the phone and left to talk with Harry.

"I stopped myself from asking that day." Ginny looked back at Harry. "I decided I wanted to be face-to-face to have _this_ conversation." Harry just smiled, holding back his laughter as Ginny looked at him crossly. "So, you do remember her, a little too well, actually." She glowered.

Harry smirked.

"My, my, are we jealous?" he asked.

"I'm not jealous, I'm annoyed!" Ginny elaborated.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because you never told me you had previous girlfriends!"

"I didn't!" Harry protested. "But Alex did."

"Don't think you can get away with blaming your muggle alter ego!" Ginny warned.

Harry laughed, making Ginny swat him hard on the arm.

"She wasn't my girlfriend." Harry protested. "I just met her a few times and we had a drink."

"And went dancing." Damien added. Harry turned to look at him. "Amy mentioned it." he defended.

"Get out, Damy." Harry instructed.

"Fine," Damien smirked. "I don't want to witness this bloody massacre anyway." He grinned at Harry. "Come on, Neelam."

The owl hooted once and flew over to Damien, settling on his offered arm. Damien left Harry and Ginny alone.

"You should have told me, mentioned it even once, so I didn't feel like an absolute fool when I met her!" Ginny said.

"How was I supposed to know you two would meet?" Harry asked.

"How many others are there?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Gin..."

"How many other girlfriends did you or _Alex_ have?"

"It's not important." He answered.

"It is to me!" Ginny argued.

"Why?" Harry asked. "It doesn't matter if there was one girl before you or a hundred." At Ginny's gobsmacked expression, Harry quickly added, "It's not a hundred. I just mean that the number is irrelevant. I never had a girlfriend and neither did _Alex_." Harry teased. "Amy Jackson and the rest were girls that I had fun with. It was never anything more. There was never a relationship there."

"Oh, so I'm the relationship girlfriend! I'm no fun!" Ginny exclaimed.

"How could you get _that_ from what I said?" Harry asked.

"You admitted you had fun with Amy!" Ginny repeated. "You did like her, I knew it! I knew you liked her more than me!"

"No, I never said that." Harry defended. "I don't like Amy more than you. Actually, I don't like any girl more than you."

"Really?" Ginny asked in a quiet unsure voice.

Harry pulled her hand into his.

"Come on, Ginny. You're the girl I rescued, many, _many_ times." He said playfully, making Ginny roll her eyes. "I never did that with Amy or the rest." Harry tilted her face up when she dropped her head. "You're the only girl I made a marriage reference to." He said. "If that doesn't say something, I don't know what will."

Ginny smiled, ducking her head again. She finally looked up at him, her brown eyes sparkling with happiness. She leaned forward and kissed him.

"Okay, I believe you." She whispered. "But only because of the marriage reference thing."

xxx

When Harry and Ginny walked into the living room they were surprised to see there were visitors in Potter Manor.

Frank and Alice Longbottom smiled at Harry as he entered the room, holding Ginny's hand. They got up to greet Harry, Frank shaking hands with him while Alice preferred to hug him.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"They are our friends, remember?" Lily said.

Harry scanned the room.

"You didn't bring Nigel?" he asked, disappointment evident in his voice.

"Neville's taken him out for the day. He was mentioning something about a Quidditch match later on or something." Frank explained.

"Nigel loves Quidditch. Neville's taught him how to fly already." Alice added.

Harry didn't say anything but was secretly glad Neville was bringing Nigel to the same match they were going to. He would see Nigel there.

"So, we heard the news." Frank said, bringing Harry's attention back to him. "Seems like there will be another 'Professor Potter' at Hogwarts now!"

Harry smirked.

"Nope, it'll be Harry, just Harry."

"Oh, you're not disowning us again, are you?" Damien asked, sarcastically.

"Not all," Harry answered, "just the youngest."

Damien pulled a face at Harry but couldn't help the grin that came almost afterwards. He loved bickering playfully with his brother, it felt natural.

"Everyone is talking about your 'revolutionary' course to teach effective duelling." Alice said, smiling proudly at Harry. "It's all anyone can talk about. It's the first time a course will be taught at Hogwarts that is not a part of Hogwarts standard curriculum."

"It's going to be incredible, I already know it!" Frank beamed. "We've put Nigel's name down on the waiting list already."

Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"I just hope no one pulls their kids out of the class once it starts. I'm not a very patient teacher."

"Just remember the one and only golden rule; don't get mad and blow things up." Sirius said, grinning.

"It's funny, everyone keeps saying that to me." Harry defended. "It was all the school board could talk about."

"Big mystery why?" Damien commented.

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Lily comforted. "After all, your temper, as terrifying as it is, doesn't compare to mine. If the students of Hogwarts can survive me, you will be fine."

Harry and Damien grinned. There was no question about that.

xxx

The Longbottom's were still at Potter manor but Harry had left them to be alone in his room. Ginny had left to go back to the Burrow to get changed for the game and to tell Ron and the rest about the Quidditch match, so they could come as well. Harry was supposed to be getting ready as well, as they were leaving for the game in an hour's time but Harry still had to change. He was outside on the balcony, letting the afternoon sun glare down on him. He watched the birds, spotting the blue and white ball that was Neelam, fly over the trees and disappear among the tall branches.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Harry turned around to see Alice standing at the glass doors. She gestured to the scenery.

"Yeah." Harry responded, turning around to stare out before him.

Alice walked over to Harry.

"I hope you don't mind me coming up here. I just wanted to talk to you."

Harry nodded his head.

"It's fine." He responded.

"Harry, you might remember I wanted to talk to you, that day in the Three Broomsticks, last years' Valentine's Day?"

Harry nodded again, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.

"You don't have to say it. I know what you want to say." Harry said, without looking at her.

"What is it you think I want to say?" Alice asked.

Harry turned his head, just a fraction, and glanced at her before dropping his gaze to the ground.

"You want to thank me, for saving Nigel's life." Harry said. "But you don't need to. I did what I did because I had to. Nigel was only targeted because of me. It was up to me to save him."

Alice was quiet for a few moments and kept her gentle gaze on Harry.

"That's not what I wanted to say." She said finally.

"No?" Harry asked, still refusing to look over at her.

"No, I know you are fully aware of our gratitude. Frank and I could never thank you enough for what you did for Nigel and for us." Alice looked straight at Harry. "I wanted to say, I'm sorry."

Harry looked over at her, caught by the strangeness of her words.

"For what?" he asked.

"For your loss." She stated simply. "I know no one has said this to you and it's understandable why." She hesitated for a second before looking back up at Harry, at his stunned emerald green eyes. "I remember that night, when you came with the Death Eaters. The way you spoke about...about him and the dedication you had to him, your loyalty to the man you called _father_ was frightening." She smiled sadly as she continued, "I remember feeling so lost then. I was so desperate for you to realise you were not Voldemort's son and it was only afterwards that I realised that you were in fact _his_ son. You were brought up by him. He was all you knew since you were a baby. To lose someone that close to you, I can only imagine the pain."

Harry was rendered speechless. No one had showed any concern over the loss of Voldemort. Everyone was too busy rejoicing his demise.

"You're actually paying me condolence for Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"You lost your father, whether or not Voldemort be worthy of that title is another matter." Alice replied. "You suffered the loss of someone close to you." She reached out and touched his cheek. "And you above all, didn't deserve that." Alice studied the boy carefully before she next spoke. "I know why you spared me and Frank that day. You didn't kill me when you found out I was expecting Nigel. It was that innocent little life that was depending on me and on Frank that made you help us." She looked at Harry sadly. "You save the innocence of others because no one was there to save yours."

Harry didn't say anything but he dropped his gaze, choosing to look away from her. He felt her warm hand clasp onto his, making him look up at her. Alice smiled at him before letting go and walking to his door.

"Alice," Harry called, making her stop to look back at him. "Thanks." He said quietly.

Alice just smiled before turning and walking past the glass doors and out of Harry's room.

xxx

There was a knock on Harry's door before it opened and James walked in.

"You ready?" James asked as Harry was pulling on his shoes.

"Yeah," Harry answered. "Is Ginny back?"

"She's downstairs with your mum. Ron and Hermione came with her.

Harry grinned.

"It's quite a turnout. It's a shame we don't even know who is playing."

James shrugged.

"It's Quidditch! Not much wrong can happen."

Harry stood up.

"Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."

He started towards the door but James stopped him.

"Just a minute, Harry. I wanted to give something to you first."

James reached into his robes and pulled out a box. He handed it to Harry who looked perplexed. He opened the box to find two glass vials sitting inside, a silvery white mist, not quite gas, not quite liquid swimming within them.

"Whose are they?" Harry asked, recognising he was holding someone's memories.

"Lucius and Narcissa's." James replied.

Harry looked up at James with surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"These are Lucius and Narcissa's memories of the times you were obliviated." James explained quickly. "I know that these probably aren't even a fraction of the memories you lost at the hands of Voldemort but at least it's something." James offered. "I know you were upset with not knowing what happened to you, especially with Narcissa." James paused, trying to see what Harry's reaction was.

The raven haired boy just stared at the two vials before his gaze lifted and he looked at his dad.

"You asked them for these?" Harry questioned.

"I wanted you to get some answers, even if it is only a few." James answered. "I meant to give you these ever since you got back but I decided to wait until we all got back from Hogwarts.

Harry stared at his dad. He knew what that last statement meant. James had wanted to wait until everyone was home before giving him the memories, because he didn't want Harry to be alone after watching them. Harry replaced the lid on the box carefully and looked back up at James, not knowing how to express his sheer gratitude.

"Thanks, dad." Harry said. "I know what it must have felt like, asking Lucius for this."

James smiled back.

"If it makes you happy, it was worth it." James turned to the door. "Come downstairs. We're leaving in about twenty minutes."

"I'll be right there." Harry replied.

James left, leaving Harry still holding the box. Slowly, Harry turned towards the balcony again, carrying the box with him.

Harry stood at his balcony, the wind ruffling his hair. He stood holding both vials of memories in his hands. He twirled the two vials between his fingers, feeling the weight of the tubes in his hands. He had the answers he had wondered about within his fingertips. The missing parts of his past, some of it was here, in his very hands.

Harry let out a breath as he placed the two vials onto the wall of the balcony. Then, he gently moved his hand forward and tipped both vials over the edge, letting them fall over. He watched as both vials glittered in the sunlight as they fell to the ground below and with a small tinkle, they smashed onto the ground, the glass breaking into millions of tiny shards. The white mist of memories blossomed into a cloud before evaporating into the air.

Harry watched until nothing was left of the cloud that had been Lucius and Narcissa's memories. He pulled away from the edge of the balcony and turned to go downstairs, only to stop at the sight of Damien, standing behind him, looking shocked.

"What did you do?" Damien asked as he hurried over to him, peering over the edge of the balcony. "Why did you smash the memories? I thought you wanted to know what happened in your past."

"I did," Harry answered calmly. He looked over at the ground below, where the shattered vials lay before looking back up at Damien. "But I figure, it's time I leave the past and concentrate on my future."

Damien smiled, he was so glad to hear Harry say that.

Harry smiled as he slung an arm around Damy's shoulder and both brothers headed downstairs, where the rest of their family and friends were waiting for them, to go to the Quidditch match.

THE END

xxx

There you go; the end of 'The Dark Prince Trilogy'. Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed. Please review to tell me what you thought. Cheers!!


End file.
